Winter has arrived, according to the Shanghai Meteorological Bureau.

 

The season officially arrives on the first of five consecutive days with daily average temperatures below 10 degrees Celsius.

 

Yesterday was the fifth cold day in a row, meaning winter arrived on December 9, according to the bureau.

 

Sunshine is expected tomorrow, but temperatures will drop under the influence of a cold front that will arrive in the city from the north tomorrow night.

 

Tomorrow's high is forecast to drop to just seven degrees, with overnight lows slipping to freezing.

 

Winter normally arrives in the city at the end of November or the very first week of December, according to the bureau.

 

The city is expected to have a mild winter this year, as it had a long summer and a warm autumn, said the bureau.

 

The past summer lasted five months, from May to September, making it the longest summer in the city since officials began keeping records 133 years ago.

 

The average temperature from September to November reached 20.8 degrees, the highest for 55 years, according to the bureau.

 

The city also had more rain during the transition from autumn to winter this year than normal, as the wet and warm air current from the southwest has been rather active since mid-November.

 

During the second 10-day period of November, Xuhui District had about four times more rain than usual for the period, the bureau said.

 

(Xinhua News Agency December 14, 2006)