Russia is experiencing a warm winter, with temperatures 5 to 8 degrees Celsius warmer than the norm for late December. This has caused Moscow to be deprived of snow, plants to bloom prematurely, and bears to come out of hibernation. The warming is part of global warming, which is almost entirely due to human emissions of heat-trapping greenhouse gases. Russia has joined the Paris climate accord, but climate change legislation was watered down after objections from some businesses. The country is warming disproportionately fast compared to the rest of the world, with the Siberian permafrost already beginning to thaw. The effects in Moscow are not as extreme, but the Hydrometeorological Research Center has warned that 2019 could be the capital city's warmest year on record. Protests tied to environmental issues have spread throughout Russia, but a poll revealed that just 12% of Russians considered global climate change a concern for the spread of Siberia's forest fires.