Typhoon brings rain but no relief to heat

Typhoon Hagupit, which formed in the east China sea on Saturday, will bring gales and showers to Shanghai on Monday.

Hagupit is the fourth typhoon of the year, the National Meteorological Center said on Sunday.

There were no typhoons in July this year, the first time since 1949, the authority said.

Typhoon Sinlaku, which also formed on Saturday, is moving away from China. The typhoon has been downgraded to a tropical depression and it will not be followed and updated by the authority.

Typhoon Hagupit is expected to land in coastal areas of Zhejiang and Fujian provinces on Monday night. Its intensity is increasing.

The maximum wind force in the coastal areas of Shanghai will reach 75 to 88 kilometers per hour on Monday, posing a risk to some houses, the Shanghai Meteorological Center reported.

Although Hagupit will bring showers and heavy rain to the city from Monday to Wednesday,  it isn’t expected to dissipate the heat.

Temperatures next week will still be above 33 degrees Celsius. 

A yellow alert, the third-highest in a four-tier system, of heat was released by the local center at 11am on Sunday. A temperature of 36.1 degrees Celsius was recorded at Xujiahui meteorological center in Xuhui District. It may be issued again from Wednesday.

Xiang Chunyi, an official of the national meteorological center, said on Sunday that four to six typhoons will form around China this month. Two or three typhoons are likely to land, compared to the average of 1.9 typhoons.