Heating in Beijing is unlikely to be turned on early this year as three local government departments agreed on Tuesday that the weather is unlikely to drop below 5 C before November.

Ding Deping, head of the Beijing Special Meteorological Observatory, said at a weather conference on Tuesday that the temperature will probably rise from Wednesday morning and remain relatively high until the end of the week.

"It is impossible that the heating will come on before Nov 1, since the average temperature for the coming five days will be above 10 C, with the highest between 15 C and 17 C," Ding told METRO.

The three departments - the Beijing Municipal Commission of City Administration and Environment, the Beijing Meteorological Bureau and Finance Bureau of Beijing - will continue to keep their eyes on the weather and the next meeting will be held on Nov 1 or Nov 2, Ding added.

"We will start to supply heating any time between Nov 1 and Nov 15, if the average temperature is below 5 C for five consecutive days," said Guo Weiqi, director of the Beijing heating office of the Beijing Municipal Commission of City Administration and Environment.

However, some residents are already complaining about the cold weather and want the heating turned on before Nov 1.

Yuan Yuan, a 26-year-old office worker in Beijing, said it is too cold to take a shower at home and she has to use the shower at her gym.

She said many of her friends turn their air conditioners on to heat their homes.

"It wastes much more energy than central heating," Yuan said. "We all hope the government will supply heating early."

Some hospitals and homes for the aged in the city have already been supplied with heating.

"Usually, most homes for the aged supply heating about half a month earlier than residents' homes," said Li Jing, a staff member with the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Civil Affairs.

A worker at Ji'an Nursing Home in Dongcheng district said they have had heating since Sunday.

Guo Weiqi with the Beijing heating office said that hospitals, homes for the aged and kindergartens are different from residential homes as they negotiate their own contracts with heating suppliers and can ask for an earlier service if they have an agreement.

Wu Wencong and Liu Yujie contributed to this story.

China Daily

(China Daily 10/27/2010)