Wednesday saw the city air more polluted than usual, with dangerous PM2.5 particles reaching a level that is eight times more than the set safe level by the World Health Organization, Shanghai Daily reported.
According to the same report, the air quality index used to measure air pollution registered 251 at around 10 o'clock in the evening, which means that the air in the city was heavily polluted.
During the same time period, it was also recorded that PM2.5 particles have reached a concentration of 201.3 micrograms per cubic meter, a lot higher than the WHO safe level of 25. PM2.5 particles are particularly dangerous because they can penetrate deeply into the respiratory system and cause bodily harm.
However, despite the quite alarming levels of pollution on Wednesday, authorities from the Shanghai Environmental Monitoring Center said that stronger winds that come with the arrival of a cold front should help disperse the harmful smog beginning Thursday.
The monitoring center also predicted that pollution would be lighter by morning and the air would have a better quality by afternoon.
Meanwhile, weather forecasters say that even though the cold front and the winds it brings swill clear the smog, it will also send temperatures down.
On Wednesday, mercury thermometers recorded the temperature to be at 14 degrees Celsius. When the high pressure front is gone, they expect that the temperature will struggle to go down further to beyond 7 degrees and drizzles will be likely, according to the Shanghai Meteorological Bureau.
While suburban areas will be experiencing subzero temperatures, the city should experience temperatures somewhere near 1 degree Celsius in downtown areas.
In the afternoon, when the sun is up and shining, it is expected that it will bring warmth and raise the temperatures to a slightly more comfortable 9 degrees.