Hottest day this year to arrive in Shanghai on Wednesday

Shanghai was hit by downpours, gales and lightning on Saturday.

The city's meteorological authorities issued a yellow lightning alert at 1pm and a blue gale alert at 3pm. The thundershowers and gales are predicted to last till tomorrow morning. Short-term heavy precipitation of up to 20 to 40 millimeters is expected.

The temperature ranged from 25 to 31 degrees Celsius on Saturday, while the range is expected to be between  25 to 28 degrees on Sunday.

A high of 35 degrees is expected on Wednesday making it  the hottest day this year.

Shanghai is still under the influence of the "plum rain" belt. Rains and thundershowers are expected to continue next week along with humidity.

The mercury will range between 25 to 35 degrees Celsius next week with good air quality.

Wet weather in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River continues, according to the National Meteorological Center.

The 11th solar term on the Chinese calender, xiaoshu, or slight heat, falls on Wednesday. In this period, temperatures will increase and there are often more thunderstorms in the south region of China.