This coming Wednesday (November 25), Chapter One will host a charity event featuring a wide selection of imported Australian beers on special and an outdoor barbecue.

Beer importers Just Beer have donated 240 Australian beers previously unavailable in Kunming, including Victoria Bitter, Cascade, Pure Blonde and Crown Lager, which will be sold at the special price of 10 yuan beginning at 7:30 pm. Beers purchased after the first 240 beers are gone will be sold at regular price. Non-Aussie beers will not be available, so if you're a die-hard Chinese beer fan, this event maybe isn't for you.

All money made from the sale of the donated beers and all profits from the beers sold afterward will go to the Chapter One charity fund, which is aimed at funding education opportunities for rural children in Yunnan.

Chapter One owner Liu Aihua's introduction to the fund can be found on the bar's website.

In addition to cheap imported beers, organic sausages from Green Kunming will be available hot off the grill on Chapter One's front deck. Sausages will be sold for the special price of 10 yuan.

For more information, stop by Chapter One at 146 Wenlin Jie or call at 536 5635.

Kunming's notoriously dreary rainy season was much shorter than usual this year, which translated to a greater number of sunny, blue-sky days. Few complained about the extra pleasant days at the time, but it appears the consequences are around the corner, according to a Dushi Shibao report.

According to the Yunnan Provincial Meteorological Bureau, from January 1 to November 15 of this year, average rainfall totaled 843.3 millimeters, or 233.5 millimeters less than the same period last year. It is the lowest average rainfall for the province on record.

Provincial meteorological officials speaking to local media yesterday said that Yunnan was in a state of drought. Furthermore, they said, although the current cold weather has reduced the chances of wildfires, the recent precipitation is nowhere near what is needed to bring the province out of drought.

In addition to less precipitation, this year has been warmer, with the average temperature across the province reaching 25.1 Celsius (77.1 Fahrenheit), 1.5 degrees higher than in 2008 – this is also a new record.

Due to the insufficient amount of water stored in reservoirs throughout the province, the period leading up to the rainy season in late spring next year is expected to be difficult for much of the province. Officials noted that although Kunming's Yunlong and Songhuaba reservoirs were lower than usual, city residents were in no danger of a water shortage, at least in 2010.

With regard to the current cold weather covering the province, a bureau spokesperson said that from tomorrow through Sunday, the province will experience another noticeable drop in temperatures. During this period, rain, sleet and snow are expected to fall upon much of the province, including Kunming.