Spring just might come to Shanghai next week

Shanghai is expected to dry out next week with more chance for the sun to break through, forecasters said.

According to the Shanghai Meteorological Bureau, the skies will be showery Saturday but the rain will taper off to brief drizzle by Sunday morning, followed by a cloudy afternoon. Temperatures will fluctuate between 8 and 13 degrees Celsius at the weekend.

Next week will have a dry and cloudy start with the high jumping to 17 degrees on Monday. Residents will enjoy clear skies and bright, warm sunshine on Tuesday and Wednesday with the mercury ranging from 8 to 17 degrees. After that, there will be some wetness with a small drop in temperature.

It’s likely that next week will herald the arrival of spring in Shanghai. It’s generally announced after five days with daily average temperatures recorded at no less than 10 degrees.

This week the city entered Jingzhe, the lunar year's third solar phase, the period where spring usually begins. The solar term, known as "insects awaken" in English, indicates that the weather will get warm and the spring thunders will awake hibernating insects from their winter slumber.

The steady rains and overcast skies during the past a few months also affected local agricultural products, causing a reduction in the yield of melons and watermelons produced by Shanghai's suburban areas, and postponed the time of their coming to local market by more than 20 days.

Generally, melons will go to local market starting late April and watermelons will follow in mid May. But due to the lack of sunshine this year, the collecting time will be postponed with a decrease in yield, which may cause a rise in prices.