Rain causes delays as heatwave set to continue

FLIGHTS and Metro trains were delayed as the city was drenched by downpours yesterday.

Over 50 flights had been canceled at Pudong and Hongqiao airports as of 2pm due to the heavy thunder and rainstorm. At Hongqiao, 37 flights were canceled and another 11 had to diverted to land at Pudong, according to the city’s airport authority.

Normal operations at both airports resumed in the late afternoon as the rains subsided.

A power supply unit for Metro Line 1 was knocked out by a lightening strike at around 12:50pm, leading to delays and reduced train speeds between Xinzhuang Station and Shanghai South Railway Station. Metro operators restored full power around 2:20pm.

For the second consecutive day, the Shanghai Meteorological Bureau issued an orange heat alert, the second highest alert on its three-tier system, at 9:18am yesterday, with a warning that temperatures could exceed 37 degrees Celsius.

At 11am, the mercury rose to 35.8 degrees in downtown Xujiahui. Jiading was the hottest district, posting a high of 37.6 degrees, followed by Qingpu which recorded 37.5 degrees. Light ozone pollution was also present across the city.

Thunderstorms hit downtown Shanghai, as well as Baoshan and Fengxian districts, just after 11am, which soon triggered a yellow lightning alert, the second on a four-tier system. At 11:25am, the weather authority released a yellow rain alert, also the second on a four-tier system, warning of precipitation up to 40 millimeters. At 12:09pm, the city was put under a fourth alert: a yellow alert for gale winds.

Between 11am and 12:45pm, the Xujiahui weather station recorded precipitation of 37.2 millimeters. Winds in the Pudong New Area reached a maximum speed of 19.2 meters per second.

The downpour helped cool the city, bringing afternoon temperatures to 26 degrees. By 4:17pm, all weather alerts had been lifted.

Today will be cloudy, with a high of 36 degrees. Over the weekend, the high will hover around 34 degrees.