First plum rain burst drenches Shanghai
A typical scene on Shanghai roads on Tuesday amid the first burst of the plum rain season
A food deliveryman rides his e-bike in the rain.
The first burst of the plum rain season arrived as expected on Tuesday morning but it will taper off on Wednesday with the rain belt moving southward, forecasters said.
However, the cloudy condition will only last through Thursday morning with another series of thundershowers drenching the city in the afternoon.
The overnight heavy rains on Tuesday affected the morning peak-hour traffic, causing some congestion on city roads. At about 8am, precipitation recorded at some 70 percent of local observation sites reached the level of heavy rain and 28 percent reached the level of moderate rain.
By 4pm, the precipitation in most districts was between 40 and 70 millimeters. Pudong's Jinqiao area received the most rain, with the reading hitting 91mm.
The wet spell brought some respite from the warm weather, with the highest temperature falling into the 20s.
Wednesday will be mostly overcast and dry. Despite a cloudy start, Thursday is likely to see some thundershowers and the showery weather will last into Friday. Skies will clear up on Saturday, with a dry weekend expected. Another round of showers will come early next week.
The mercury this week will range between 21 and 28 degrees Celsius.
Generally, Shanghai gets out of the plum rain season around July 10. But this year the city will have a longer plum rain season, which is expected to end in mid-July, with more rain than normal.
A man, carrying his father on his back, tries to cross a road during a downpour in the city.
An e-bike rider opts for double protection from the rain, holding an umbrella while wearing a raincoat.
A moped rider rushes through puddles of water on a flooded road.
A shared bicycle rider balances her umbrella amid the downpour.
Passengers struggle with their umbrellas as they disembark from a public transport bus.
