As we don our Family Mart ponchos, umbrellas and other fashionable weatherproof apparel in preparation for the week of rain that has already begun, take comfort in the fact that the wet weather brings with it the promise of clearer air.
While generally perceived as a rather dreary affair, rain washes dust and other unpleasant substances floating around to the ground, where they can then be absorbed by plants and released as fresh oxygen.
The rain will alleviate some of the smog we have already accepted as a permanent fixture of the Shanghai huan jing, and we can expect a lot of it. According to Shanghai Daily, over the course of the next weeks we'll be experiencing rainfall of 50 to 70 millimeters in the city, and some parts may even see 70 to 100 millimeters.
We can already see an improvement, with AQI levels registering at 37 this morning. When's the last time the word 'good' was ever associated with Shanghai's air quality? We cannot recall...
Fret not Shanghairen, there's no reason to stay inside and bunker down during the rainy days to come. Take a deep breath of 'fresh' air, stomp in some puddles, and enjoy the rain while it lasts.
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