No Rain? Beijing Dry Spell Likely to Continue Until After "The Two Sessions" Have Concluded

No Rain.

I'm old enough to remember this video (VPN on) ...

... And the creepy kid dancing around in the bee outfit. Her name is Heather DeLoach, and she ended up doing two episodes of ER before retiring from showbiz and opening a catering and events business named "Sweet Bee Candy Stations." Who says there are no second acts in life?

There is also no rain in sight for the city of Beijing which has had no measurable precipitation in over 130 days. Blame La Niña, the weather phenomenon which has locked dry and cold air in Northern China and kept out all that warm moisture-laden spring weather from heading our way. 

(There was a dusting of snow last week – for about 30 seconds – but hardy enough to matter.) 

The National Meteorological Center – which tracks snowfall of a different kind – does suggest a chance of light rain in two weeks. How they know that I have no idea, but state media is reporting it so it must be sorta kinda true.

For what it's worth, state media also reports that the weather this week during the "Two Sessions" will be "warm" and "blue skies are expected most of the time."

The "Two Sessions," including the First Plenary Session of the 13th Party Congress and the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, is meeting in Beijing this week. The thousands of dutiful delegates descending on the city will also mean clean(er) air, worse Internet, and a lot more official security types hanging around subway stops and street corners. There are also likely to be occasional closures and traffic restrictions in the areas around Tiananmen Square and the Great Hall of the People.

Meteorologists have also suggested the possibility of a prolonged drought which means increased risk of sand and dust storms at other – presumably less politically inconvenient – times during the spring. We have been warned.

In the meantime, enjoy the occasional blue skies, grab your bee costume, and dance like there's no rain. Because we probably won't be seeing any for at least a couple more weeks.

Image: YouTube