Weather forecasters see break from extreme heat

Shanghai will get some relief from the broiling heat this week as the high temperature is expected to drop to a breezy 34 C Friday, the local weather bureau forecast Monday.

The predicted temperature drop would follow more than a month straight of daily highs above 35 C, the threshold at which the Shanghai Meteorological Bureau issues heat alerts.

Monday was no exception. The bureau issued an orange high temperature alert at 9:46 am. It issues an orange heat alert, the second highest on its three-tiered warning system, when the temperature is expected to rise above 38 C over the following 24 hours.

The high temperature had risen to 36.6 C by 1:30 pm on Monday, noticeably cooler than last week's record-breaking high temperatures. The high temperature rose above 40 C for four consecutive days last week. It hit 40.8 C on Wednesday, breaking the all-time high of 40.6 C, a record that goes back 140 years.

The high will range from 35 C to 36 C from Tuesday to Thursday, the weather bureau predicted.

The temperature will cool down as the subtropical high pressure system responsible for the heat shifts north, allowing cooler air from the southeast to move in, said Fu Yi, a press officer with the weather bureau.

Fu said it is too early to tell whether the city has seen its last heat alert for this year.

The bureau predicted scattered rain showers on Thursday and Friday, according to its website.