When it Rains, it Pours!

11/08/13 

I know I promised pictures but when we woke up it was pretty smoggy so we decided against venturing out. If you have Twitter, or the internet, you can Google the Beijing Air Quality Index. It’s run by the American government and it gives hourly updates on the smog situation in Beijing. China has asked them to stop publishing the pollution levels as the American figures are much higher than the ones officially published by Beijing’s Environmental Protection Bureau but obviously America hasn’t listened. On the index from 0-50 is good, 50-100 is moderate, 100-150 is unhealthy for sensitive groups and exercise is not advised, 150-200 is unhealthy, 200-300 is very unhealthy and anything above 300 is hazardous.  We’ve had a few good days, the lowest has been in the 70s but today it was up at 226. I’ve heard that spending a day in smoggy Beijing is the equivalent of smoking a full cigarette but apparently it’s more like ¼ of a cigarette. Either way it’s probably not that great but I haven’t really noticed any adverse effects... Yet. 

Our apartment building - right in the middle of the picture

As I said, it looked pretty smoggy when we woke up so we went to headquarters and used the internet to send emails, check Facebook and upload a few Blogs. At first we didn’t really notice but the sky was becoming gradually darker and the thunder was becoming gradually louder. At 3pm it was pitch black and you probably think I’m exaggerating but I kid you not, it was as if someone had turned the lights off and it was the middle of the night. We decided to make a dash for home before the weather got any worse but by the time we had gotten to the front door the rain had started. I know it rains a lot at home but the rain was horrific. It was like a disaster movie, when the rain and wind starts going crazy, usually before everyone dies. The lightening was in full swing too so we decided to try and wait it out. After using yet more free internet we went back to the first floor and saw some new teachers who were also trying to outstay the rain.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Shijingshan Rd after a downpour

I should probably explain that headquarters is on the 6^th floor of a huge building – there are other offices, language schools and even restaurants all in the one building. As the rain was still going strong we had some dinner and by the time we had finished the rain was only spitting and we rushed home! So long story short, no pictures today because the only adventure we had was going from one floor to another in an attempt to avoid getting soaked! Good news though, the rain cleared some of the smog so hopefully tomorrow will be better! Fingers crossed!