On the afternoon of July 19th, Shanghai was hit by heavy rainfall, with some areas experiencing torrential rain. Areas such as Yangpu and Hongkou encountered road flooding and residential areas being inundated with water. Within one hour, Yangpu Wujiaochang recorded a rainfall of 104.5 millimeters, with a total rainfall of 212.8 millimeters over a period of four and a half hours.
According to reports from The Paper, at 5:30 p.m. on July 19th, the Shanghai Flood Control Office disclosed that due to the impact of a severe thunderstorm cloud system, the city experienced medium to heavy rainfall in the afternoon, with some areas facing torrential to record-breaking rainfall. The intensity of the hourly rainfall far exceeded the drainage capacity, leading to road flooding and residential waterlogging in Yangpu and Hongkou.
The Shanghai Flood Control Office indicated that Yangpu District experienced an extraordinary level of rainfall, while Hongkou District, Pudong New Area, and Baoshan District faced heavy rainfall. Among the 662 rainfall observation stations across the city: the average rainfall was 29.7 millimeters, with 3 stations reporting record-breaking rainfall, 20 stations reporting heavy rainfall, 139 stations reporting moderate rainfall, 124 stations reporting light rainfall, and 102 stations reporting drizzle. Notably, the highest recorded rainfall at a single station was 212.8 millimeters at the Yangpu Wujiaochang Meteorological Observatory (from 1:00 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.), while the highest hourly rainfall reached 104.5 millimeters at the same location (from 1:40 p.m. to 2:40 p.m.).
In fact, on the morning of the 19th, the minimum temperatures across Shanghai ranged from 24 to 27 degrees Celsius. After 7 a.m., temperatures rose rapidly, with the highest temperature reaching 35.2 degrees Celsius at the Xujiahui station in the urban area, marking the 9th high-temperature day of the year. In the afternoon, the weather suddenly changed, prompting the Shanghai Meteorological Center to issue yellow warnings for thunderstorms, blue warnings for strong winds, blue warnings for heavy rainfall, and yellow warnings for hail. The rainfall escalated, leading to an updated warning of a yellow wind alert and an orange heavy rain alert.
Rainfall statistics from 12 p.m. to 4 p.m. showed that precipitation largely concentrated in the western and central-northern regions. Wujiaochang Street in Yangpu recorded the highest rainfall at 197.8 millimeters, while the Xujiahui station in the urban area reported 57.2 millimeters of rainfall.
On that day, topics such as “Sudden Strong Thunderstorm in Shanghai” and “Four-Hour Rainfall of 197.8 millimeters in Shanghai Wujiaochang” surged to the top of trending topics on Weibo.
Numerous netizens uploaded relevant videos and commented, “Has Shanghai really been flooded like this?! ‘Yangpu Wujiaochang’ surged into hot search. ‘University Road’ has even turned into a ‘Venice in Shanghai’.”
“Our residential compound is flooded. Fortunately, I parked my car at the harbor today; otherwise, it would have been submerged.”
“A journey that normally takes 40 minutes turned into a 2-hour delay. I had to finally get out of the car and walk, with water up to my knees, holding my child step by step.”
“I can feel how intense this rainfall is firsthand. The four-hour rainfall in Wujiaochang almost reached two hundred millimeters, making it difficult to walk on the flooded streets. Commuting on rainy days must be done slowly and cautiously, stay away from deep water, safety first!”
“This trend is really justified; I was truly shocked by the heavy rain today. I have never seen such heavy rain even on typhoon days. The abrupt downpour during the hottest days is nerve-wracking. Luckily, I don’t have to go to work these two days, staying safely at home to avoid the rainstorm. For those who have to go out, please be mindful of water safety!”