Shanghai Daily news

Spring arrived early in Shanghai this year, but it didn't stay around for long.

Local meteorologists announced the arrival of spring over the weekend, but temperatures fell 16 degrees Celsius yesterday, suggesting winter isn't quite ready to leave.

After highs hit 24 degrees on Saturday, they dropped to 8 degrees yesterday, according to the Shanghai Meteorological Bureau.

Saturday was so warm that some local shopping malls turned on their air-conditioners after receiving complaints from customers sweating in thick clothes.

A strong cold air mass from northern China has solved that problem and should keep temperatures down for the next several days.

Today's high is expected to be 11 degrees.

The weekly average temperature will be 8 to 9 degrees downtown and colder in rural areas.

Traditionally, spring arrives on the first of five consecutive days with average temperatures above 10 degrees. As Saturday was the fifth such day in the city, meteorologists announced that spring arrived on February 16, the first of the five days.

That marks the earliest spring in Shanghai since 1898, when the season arrived on February 14. Spring doesn't usually start until late March or early April in the city.

Meteorologists are also predicting that high humidity will create fog in coastal parts of the city and near the mouth of the Yangtze River this week, but it won't be nearly as dense as last week's pea soup.

Rain is also in the forecast for two to three days this week, the bureau said.