According to the bloke across the road, it’s going to be cold today

Seems that over the past few days, Shanghai has suddenly turned into England -- everyone talking about the weather all the time.

Today -- Sunday -- has been the focus of most discussion. Despite the “official” Shanghai Daily forecast that the day would remain above zero (3-5 degrees Celsius), whispers have been going around town of a record December cold snap, with an overnight low of minus 3 or 7 -- even minus 9. These predictions have come, not from trained meteorologists, but from ... well, from friends of Shanghaiist who, like us, wouldn’t know the first thing about weather.

So, what’s it really like today? As of 8 am (when this picture was taken), Shanghaiist can confirm that it is: kind of sunny; a bit windy; probably about 4 or 5 degrees (above zero). Nice enough, though perhaps not the best day for Huangpu cruise. Like most days.

According to www.weather.com, however, there will be negative temperatures for the next six days. And a friend of ours who teaches at a school in Gubei said that one of the people in the apartment block up the road from her place thinks that it might even stretch to eight or nine days.

As they say in England: mustn’t grumble.