Visitors endure soggy weather while queuing to enter a pavilion at the World Expo in Shanghai yesterday. Despite the heavy rain and strong winds, more than 837,000 people showed up, bringing total attendance to 69.71 million.

HUNDREDS of flights were either delayed or canceled in Shanghai yesterday as tropical storm Megi and a cold front affected the city's weather, meteorologists said yesterday.

More than 200 flights were either canceled or delayed yesterday at the city's two airports as the tropical storm, which was downgraded from a typhoon, hit Fujian Province.

Flights were canceled to domestic cities such as Xiamen and Fuzhou in Fujian. Flights to Hong Kong and cities in Taiwan had lengthy delays.

Some international flights to South Korea and Japan were also affected.

Today's forecast calls for more rain with a high temperature of 23 degrees Celsius and a low of 19 degrees. It will also likely rain tomorrow with temperatures ranging from 15 to 20 degrees, the Shanghai Meteorological Bureau said.

The Pudong New Area received the most rainfall with about 40 millimeters in Nanhui area. Precipitation was recorded at more than 20 millimeters in other parts of the city between 8am and 4pm. No serious flooding was reported.

Dozens of traffic accidents occurred due to slick roads, but no serious injuries or deaths were reported yesterday.

The rain will be less heavy today and the sky is expected to turn overcast tomorrow, the bureau said.

Meteorologists said that although Megi made landfall far south of Shanghai, the storm was strong enough to influence the city's weather.

Meanwhile, the bureau told residents to prepare for cooler weather as temperatures should drop considerably in a few days under the influence of a strong cold front. The mercury is forecast to drop 8 to 10 degrees in the next 48 hours, the bureau said.

The minimum temperature could dip to as low as 9 degrees on Wednesday.

• endure [in´djuə] vt.忍耐，忍受；坚持 (初中英语单词)
• yesterday [´jestədi] n.&ad.昨天；前不久 (初中英语单词)
• despite [di´spait] prep.尽管 (初中英语单词)
• province [´prɔvins] n.省；领域；范围 (初中英语单词)
• domestic [də´mestik] a.家庭的；本国的 (初中英语单词)
• international [,intə´næʃənəl] a.国际的，世界的 (初中英语单词)
• bureau [´bjuərəu] n.局；编辑部；事务所 (初中英语单词)
• rainfall [´reinfɔ:l] n.雨量 (初中英语单词)
• traffic [´træfik] n.交通，运输 (初中英语单词)
• meanwhile [´mi:n´wail] n.&ad.其间；同时 (初中英语单词)
• mercury [´mə:kjuri] n.汞；水银柱 (初中英语单词)
• wednesday [´wenzdi] n.星期三 (初中英语单词)
• pavilion [pə´viljən] n.大帐篷；亭子 (高中英语单词)
• tropical [´trɔpikəl] a.热带地区的 (高中英语单词)
• considerably [kən´sidərəbli] ad.显著地；十分 (高中英语单词)
• minimum [´miniməm] n.最小量 a.最小的 (高中英语单词)
• affected [ə´fektid] a.做作的；假装的 (英语六级单词)
• forecast [´fɔ:kɑ:st] vt.&n.预测；预报 (英语六级单词)