Warm, sunny weather set to continue

Shanghai's mercury hit almost 27 degrees Celsius yesterday, and sunshine and warm weather are set to continue today and tomorrow, weather forecasters said.

Yesterday's high also gave a reminder that summer is not far away, with overnight temperatures on Saturday remaining as high as 17.3 degrees.

The warm weather saw city residents don their summer gear, with T-shirts and shorts to the fore yesterday afternoon.

Today is forecast sunny, though with some cloud, with the high reaching 26 degrees Celsius. The warmth should continue tomorrow, with the high remaining above 25 degrees and the low around 17, said the Shanghai Meteorological Bureau.

But showers are expected tomorrow evening and Wednesday, with the high dropping to around 22 degrees as a cold front arrives, said Man Liping, a chief service officer with the bureau.

However, the rain should clear up by Thursday. "It should be sunny with some cloud from Thursday," Man said.

Yesterday's temperature rose sharply in the morning after cloud cleared, Man said. "The energy from sunshine at this time of the year is different and gives off more heat," Man told Shanghai Daily yesterday.

"As long as conditions are good, sunshine will see temperatures rise sharply."

The temperature in Shanghai reached 24 degrees at 11am yesterday, and peaked at 26.6 degrees in the afternoon.

The contrast between yesterday's warm weather and cooler conditions on Saturday's caused some concern among locals, but Man said such fluctuations are not unusual at this time of year.

"People might have felt colder on Saturday because there was little sunshine and the wind was stronger," Man said. "But this is quite normal for this time of year."

In the past decade, Shanghai's summer has usually officially arrived in the second half of May, said the forecaster.