Cherry trees are already in full blossom. Meadows are ever green. People in T-shirts, pants and sandals do more outdoor activities. Is it January or April?

 

Temperatures in New York have hovered around 10 Celsius degrees this week and soared to 21.7 degrees on Saturday, breaking the previous record high of 17.2 degrees set in 1950.

 

An employee working with Baskin 31 Robbins said the ice-cream sales went up 15 percent year-on-year this winter.

 

Skiing resorts have not enough snow, but golf centers have attracted two to three times as many people as they usually do.

 

New York City saw a November and December without snow for the first time since 1877.

 

Crude oil prices are dipping to new lows because of the warm weather.

 

Meteorologists say the warm spell is due to a combination of factors -- El Nino, a cyclical warming trend now under way in the Pacific Ocean, and the jet stream, the high-altitude air current that works like a barricade to hold back warm southern air, is running farther north than usual over the East Coast.

 

But meteorologists say it is still too soon to see if it will become the city's warmest winter in history.

 

Doctors warn that the weird weather could bring a very early allergy season since trees might begin to bud early.

 

The most common allergy symptoms are itchy eyes, noses and throats, and possibly runny or stuffy noses.

 

(Xinhua News Agency January 8, 2007)