China's Shanghai is enduring a prolonged spell of severe weather as the aftermath of Typhoon Pulasan continues to linger, coupled with cold air from the north.
China Daily reported that Typhoon Pulasan made landfall in Shanghai on the night of September 20, marking the second time the city has been hit by a typhoon in a week.
With cold air converging from the north, Shanghai residents are bracing for further challenges amid heavy rain and disruption.
Pulasan, China's 14th typhoon of the year, made landfall in Fengxian District of Shanghai at 9:45 p.m. on September 20 with maximum winds of 83 km/h near the center. Previously, Pulasan made its first landfall in Dashan County, Zhejiang Province.
The storm's impact was huge, exacerbating an already fragile situation after Typhoon Bebinca, the 13th storm of the year, devastated Shanghai just days earlier.
Torrential rains brought by Typhoon Pulasan have inundated Shanghai, with heavy to very heavy rainfall affecting the entire city. Particularly severely affected areas - Pudong and Fengxian - have borne the brunt of the storm.
Notably, Pengzhen Water Station in Pudong recorded a record rainfall of 308mm in six hours, while Yangjiazhai Meteorological Observatory in Situan recorded 327.7mm, marking a historic deluge not seen since 1978, the Shanghai Meteorological Bureau said.
The effects of the downpour were swift and widespread, forcing 334 schools across Shanghai to close.
In addition, neighboring cities in Jiangsu Province, including Changzhou, Wuxi and Jingjiang in Taizhou, have taken preventive measures by closing classrooms to protect students' health after Typhoon Pulasan made landfall.
As Pulasan gradually weakened and moved northeast, winds and rain gradually eased in Shanghai. However, the meteorological agency warned of the possibility of heavy rain again over the weekend, as Pulasan's lingering influence and cold air from northern China raised concerns about potential flooding and disruption in the Yangzi River Delta region.
Meanwhile, the Vietnam National Center for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting said that on September 21, the cold air mass in the north is continuing to move south.
It is forecasted that around the night of September 21 and early morning of September 22, this cold air mass will affect the Northeast region, then affect most of the Northwest region and some places in the North Central region. The wind will change to the northeast at level 3 inland, level 4-5 in coastal areas.
On September 22-23, the weather in the North and Thanh Hoa will turn cool, and some mountainous areas in the North will be cold. During this cold air mass, the lowest temperature in the North and Thanh Hoa will be from 20-23 degrees Celsius, and some mountainous areas will be below 19 degrees Celsius.
