Three days of dusty weather appeared to be drawing to an end on Friday when the first spring rain fell in Beijing.

The Beijing Observatory said the precipitation reached 8.3 millimeters. However, the downtown area only had drizzle of four to six millimeters.

The observatory forecast the cold current would leave Beijing on Saturday, when the temperature would rise from 13 degrees Celsius on Friday to 16 degrees, and 19 degrees on Sunday.

Much of north China, including Beijing and Tianjin, was hit by the second and the most severe bout of dusty weather this spring on Tuesday.

The station said that the rain could help dissipate the dust.

The China Meteorological Administration has predicted 19 occurrences of sandy weather in Beijing this spring. Last year saw 15 occurrences.

(Xinhua News Agency, China.org.cn, March 21, 2008)