Strong cold front set to bring freezing start to New Year

A chilly start to 2015 is forecast, with the arrival offshore of a strong cold front in the early hours of New Year's Day sending temperatures down to freezing.

Revelers joining countdown events on New Year's Eve should ensure they're well-wrapped up because the mercury will fall sharply, warned the Shanghai Meteorological Bureau.

Before the arrival of the cold front, days of stable weather are predicted, though weak winds will increase the likelihood of pollution.

Today, air pollution levels are set to reach heavily polluted, said the Shanghai Environmental Monitoring Center.

Due to the influence of high pressure, the city is forecast to see sunshine and some cloud for the first part of the week.

Today and tomorrow will see the high around 13-14 degrees Celsius and a low of 5.

But as the cold front nears on Wednesday and colder air sweeps in with growing northerly winds, the high will drop by 4 degrees. The low will be similar to the previous days.

And as the cold front begins to dominate, it will be much colder on New Year's Day, when temperatures are set to plummet to between freezing and 4 degrees.

Friday may even see the low slip to minus 1 degree in downtown areas, with temperatures lower still in outlying areas of the city, according to the bureau.

The city air quality index (AQI) reached 130 -- lightly polluted -- at 3pm yesterday, said the center.

Main pollutant PM2.5 -- especially harmful tiny particles -- reached a high of 100 micrograms per cubic meter, four times the World Health Organization's standard safe level of 25.

The center forecast that the AQI will exceed 200 -- heavily polluted -- this morning, before improving in the afternoon.

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