Shanghai set to feel the big freeze

By Cai Wenjun  |   2008-12-22  |     NEWSPAPER EDITION

A COLD front will chill Shanghai today and tomorrow, bringing temperatures below zero and finally pushing the city into winter, forecasters said yesterday.

After a mild week, temperatures plunged yesterday and today and tomorrow will see them down to minus 2 degrees Celsius in the morning downtown and four to six degrees below zero in the suburbs, the Shanghai Meteorological Bureau said.

The maximum temperature is also expected to drop to 3 degrees Celsius today but rise gradually to 10 degrees from Wednesday.

"The cold front arrived in the city this afternoon and will leave Shanghai tomorrow afternoon," the bureau's Man Liping said.

She said local people with cardiovascular diseases and respiratory problems should be aware of the drop of temperature and called on departments of electricity, transport and shipping to make proper preparations.

The cold blast may finally bring the city into winter if the daily average is lower than 10 degrees for five consecutive days. According to the forecast for the following five days, the warmest day is Friday, with a maximum of 12 degrees and a low of four.

The latest start to winter on record was in 1991, when the bureau declared December 25 the first day of winter.