Rain and gales with high risk of flu
The city is nearing winter with the temperature expected to drop by 6 to 8 degrees Celsius this week, falling to around 1 to 2 degrees in the suburbs at the weekend.
Hit by the first wave of cold air yesterday, under overcast skies with rain and strong winds, the city is unlikely to see the sun during the next five to seven days.
Cool air blown in from the north has lowered average temperatures to 2 degrees below normal. From tomorrow, there will be another significant drop in temperatures accompanied by gales.
Today, the temperature will fluctuate between 11 and 13 degrees in downtown Xujiahui, cloudy at first and turning to rain later. Tomorrow the low will slip to under 10 degrees amid heavy rain. Friday will be colder, but not so wet.
The weekend will be miserable; cold and drizzly with lows around 1 to 4 degrees.
Friday is the beginning of the daxue (heavy snow) solar term, the 21st of the 24 in the traditional Chinese calendar. It is unlikely that there will be snow, but the lowest temperatures could approach zero.
If temperatures stay low, it is likely that Friday will be the first official day of winter — signified by the average temperatures below 10 degrees for five consecutive days.
As the weather turns damp and chilly, the flu virus is said to become more active.
The local disease prevention and control center warns that frail or infirm people are more likely to get flu than the others.