Pedestrians battle the wet and windy conditions in downtown Shanghai yesterday as a storm hit the city and grounded flights at both airports. [Photo/Shanghai Daily]

More than 50 flights out of Shanghai were canceled yesterday as bad weather continued to disrupt operations at the city's two airports.

Heavy rain, thunder and lightning caused serious problems for air traffic controllers at both Pudong and Hongqiao airports, where as well as the cancellations, at least 50 flights had been delayed as of 4pm, the Shanghai Airport Authority said.

On Monday, dozens of flights were canceled or tens more were delayed at Pudong Airport after thick fog descended on the city.

It was wet and windy across Shanghai yesterday, with most areas seeing between 10 and 20 millimeters of rain, the meteorological bureau said.

The wintry conditions were due to the arrival of a powerful cold front, forecasters said.

The bureau issued a blue gale warning — the lowest in a four-level range — at 10:48am yesterday, before issuing a yellow lightning alert — the second-lowest — shortly before 2pm as the sky fizzed and cracked to the sounds of a powerful storm.

Conditions should improve today, although some parts of the city are still likely to see scattered showers this morning and it will continue to be quite windy, forecasters said.

The high temperature is unlikely to rise above 7 degrees Celsius, with a low of 5 degrees.

Tomorrow will be much the same as today temperature-wise, before slumping to just 2 degrees on Friday. The sun should return at the weekend with the high temperature expected to bounce back into the teens, though there might be more showers on Sunday.

Go to Forum >>0 Comment(s)