Shivering With Anticipation: Will the Government Turn on Beijing's Central Heating Prematurely?

While all of us are sitting at our desks shivering and dreading the fact that this is going to be the coldest winter since 2012, Beijing has decided to hold a meteorological consultation meeting to discuss whether or not the north's central heating should come on early tomorrow. Not today, not 10 days ago when cold temperatures first appeared on everyone's weather apps, but tomorrow.

To give you an idea of what that means, the winter of 2012-2013 presented the lowest national average temperatures in 28 years, closing highways, canceling flights, stranding tourists, and knocking out power in provinces throughout the country. 

These next two weeks are always some of the most painful in Beijing, with central heating commencing on November 15 every winter, and turned off citywide on March 15. However, the heating is supposed to be shaken into life prematurely after five consecutive days of average temperatures below 5 degrees Celcius. Next week's cold front is allegedly going to bring down temperatures enough to meet these icy conditions.

The heating was also turned on weeks earlier during the winters of 2009-2010, and the aforementioned winter of 2012-2013. 

Turn up that heat, we say! 

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