How's the Weather?

“How’s the weather?” is a standard small talk question, although in China, it can take a serious turn. As I mentioned in the opening, a friend of mine is studying in Ireland this semester, and it struck me all of the photos from there are a bright green in basic color, with perhaps a bright blue for the sky. Looking at my photos, the colors that stand out are . . . well, there are no colors that stand out! The country is grey, although I will freely concede this has much to do with the fact we are here during the winter. This also has much to do with the air pollution. On a scale of 0 - 400, China’s air quality on average measures 250 (this is a rough estimate). In other words, it’s bad. Below are two photos from my window, trees from campus, with a scenic coal factory in the background spewing smoke into the air. The second photo was taken about two months into my stay, and it was the first day I noticed the mountain range. That’s right, the air was smoggy enough to prevent me from seeing a mountain range from my window for the first few months. However, as the spring months approach, the air has gotten both clearer and bluer, although this morning was still the stark shade of grey we all know and love.

The second thing to comment on is the dryness. Beijing is basically a desert, much as Washington, D.C., is basically a swamp, and I can tell. In the weeks here, it has rained precisely twice–and both times in the past month. The first rainfall was actually accompanied by a snowfall the very next day, and the second rainfall was a light drizzling only a few days ago. So, it’s dry, polluted, grey, and cold. Charming–although I’ve heard promises the spring, when the air warms and the clouds sort of clear up, makes the city quite beautiful. As the Cherry Blossoms (yes, they are here as well) begin to open up, I can see hints of why this is considered one of the city’s most beautiful spots.