Climate, Beijing

I visited Beijing @ the worst time of the year (late Jun). It was sweltering at 37-38C in the day. Plus a smog that rolled in to smother the city did not help my photographic cause. Forget blue skies and fluffy clouds. All you get is an ocean of smoky white. Rather depressing actually!

If you think coming at the start of the year would buy you some respite - you're wrong. Watch out for the sand storms in early Spring. See the Gobi Desert paying you a visit.

The city has tried its best to curb pollution. Unlike other Chinese cities, this being the capital, there are plenty of cars compared to bicycles. Heavy industries that used to operate just outside the city had been moved to other locations to increase Beijing's chance of securing the Olympics. It will take years for the adverse effects to wear off.

Locals have advised that the best time to visit Beijing these days are late Apr-early May and late Sep-early Oct.

The weather in Beijing has been made extreme by the pollution. When I was there, there was not a single day with blue skies. In fact, the visibility was low and everything seemed to look greyish. The summers now in Beijing are extremely hot and humid, with temperatures easily reaching near 40 degrees Celsius. Dress extremely light during the summer. The clothing will stick to your skin.

If you go Beijing or anywhere in the North of China in the cooler and cold months dress in layers. I was there in March. Somedays during the day it was almost warm but on several days we had the temperature drop below freezing!! I bought a warm hat and gloves quite cheaply. I'm glad I did or I would have been frozen on a couple of the days that I was out wandering around. I'm wearing a wool hat in the photo...it's not my hair. LOL The photo is taken at the Ming Tombs.

Well this isn't really a warning as it is only a danger to the quality of your photos!! haha My Awesome photos that was dreaming about taking of the Great wall ended up looking like this because of the weather. I should have picked another day for my visit. Oh well just a good excuse to hopefully return someday. The Pea Soup is just a term of "Can't see a Dang thing".

I was there in November just as winter really set in. This picture demonstrates how cold it was. The gardeners in Tiantan Park (Temple of Heaven) were spraying water onto the trees and it froze creating a beautiful display.
Best thing to do to prepare for the weather is to bring layers of clothing to cope with many changes of conditions.

If you go climb the Wall in summer, wear a hat and plenty of water. Is really hot up there, and the only shadow is at the towers. Besides, the hundreds of steps you'll have to climb make the journey really exhausting...

Every spring there are horrible sandstorms in Beijing; winds pick up literally tons upon tons of sand from the Gobi desert and drop them all over Eastern China. Beijing, already very dirty and dusty, gets this really bad. Wear a scarf over your face and don't go out unless it's really necessary. It's a good idea to stock up on water for times like this.

The climate in Beijing is of the continental type, with cold and dry winters and hot summers. January is the coldest month (-4 Celsius), while July the warmest (26 Celsius).