Plum rain set to return

Shanghai is expected to have a dry start to the week but unfortunately Monday seems to be the only day with no rain for the rest June, forecasters have said.

On Sunday, residents had a rare sunny day during the plum rain season as a storm belt moved southward to the Jiangnan area, the lower region of the Yangtze River Delta. 

Monday will continue clear but starting Tuesday, the plum rain belt will move back. Between Wednesday and Sunday, it will be mostly overcast with showers at times.

The mercury will range from 21 to 30 degrees Celsius this week.

We are now in this year's 10th solar term Xiazhi, or summer solstice, which fell on Friday. After Xiazhi, more days with convective weather are expected and heavy rains will come more frequently.

The wetness and heat will bring humid and sweltering conditions.

Based on the traditional Chinese calendar, sanfu, the hottest period of summer, will arrive on July 12 this year and last for 40 days, longer than general. 

However, according to the Shanghai weather bureau, the length of sanfu is not exactly related to the days with temperatures above 35 degrees Celsius. 

For instance, the sanfu period in 2009 also had 40 days, but there were no high[-temperature days in its middle and late stages. In 1999, there were no high-temperature days through the whole sanfu.