SUNSHINE will give way to bouts of rain.

Skies will be overcast today, with possible intermittent showers tonight. But the high will remain around 25 degrees Celsius, Shanghai Meteorological Bureau said.

Cloudy skies will return late tomorrow, but the mercury will fall to 19 degrees. Thursday will see a rebound in temperatures.

Light air pollution is a possibility on Thursday as northwest winds will send a wave of pollutants to Shanghai, the forecasters said.

On Friday the high will reach 28 degrees. But residents are warned of a big difference in day and night temperatures.

The warm weather has encouraged flowers to blossom. However, this is also a time when dogs and cats go into heat. Shanghai Punan Hospital said it was seeing 50 to 60 patients daily who had been bitten by animals.