City's osmanthus flowers think it's autumn
Osmanthus flowers at Shanghai Botanical Garden have arrived early due to favorable weather conditions.
Osmanthus flowers are making their earliest appearance in Shanghai in a decade.
The 12th solar term, dashu (or "great heat"), fell on Wednesday. The highest temperature recorded at the benchmark Xujiahui meteorological center in downtown Xuhui District was 35.4 degrees Celsius, according to the city’s meteorological bureau.
The maximum temperature on Thursday will remain over 35 degrees but is expected to fall to 29 degrees on Friday, it said, but the following days will see temperatures return to over 30 degrees.
Osmanthus plants which should bloom in autumn are flowering at Shanghai Botanical Garden in Xuhui District, it said on Wednesday.
Flowering has come two months earlier due to the weather, said Wang Yuqin, a botanist at the garden.
The temperature rises after a long plum rain season and humid and sultry air provided favorable conditions for the flower, said Wang.
The mix of sunny and rainy weather and rising humidity may have mimicked the arrival of autumn, he added.
Those in flower are the early flowering varieties of osmanthus, and the blooms should last about 10 days, the garden said.
Previously, the earliest appearance of osmanthus blossoms at the garden in a decade was on September 5 last year.
Osmanthus in flower at Shanghai Botanical Garden.
