The unusually cool weather of the last 12 days should leave Shanghai this week, and temperatures will go as high as 33 degrees Celsius, meteorologists said yesterday.

"August is usually a hot and dry month for Shanghai," said Cao Xiaogang, chief meteorologist of the Shanghai Municipal Meteorological Bureau.

"But this year's rains, brought by strong cold-air masses from north, kept the temperature from rising, since clouds prevented the sun from heating the ground," Cao said.

The average daily temperature between August 7 and yesterday was three to four degrees lower than usual.

It rained through last week, with 46 millimeters of precipitation falling on the city, the meteorological bur-eau said.

From Saturday afternoon to yesterday morning, one thundershower followed another. By 8 a.m. yesterday, Luwan District had had 65 millimeters of precipitation, the most in the city.

The bureau issued a stream of storm warnings, as it does when it foresees more than 20 millimeters of precipitation an hour.

Meteorologists had predicted the summer would have at least 15 days with temperature reaching 35 degrees.

So far, there have been 11, chief meteorologist Cao said.

He reminded Shanghainese that September usually has a couple of days this hot too.

Today's high will be 32 degrees, one degree more than yesterday.

The rain belt on the middle and lower Yangtze River will move north, probably leaving the city between tomorrow and on Thursday, according to the weather bureau.

( eastday.com August 19, 2002)