The water level of the Huangpu River yesterday morning passed a warning level in the upper reaches of the river, the Shanghai Flood Control Headquarters said.

The headquarters yesterday issued a blue tidemark alert, the lowest of the four-scale warning levels but advised that the river's water level might again reach that mark at midnight.

At 3:25AM yesterday, the water level at Mishidu area reached 3.63 meters, 0.13 meters higher than the area's warning level.

The water level at the Suzhou river mouth at 1:26AM was 4.46 meters, approaching the warning level of 4.55 meters.

The river's level returned to normal then, the headquarters said. This was the first time the water level had risen above the warning level this year. The headquarters reminded authorities to close sluice gates to curb flooding.

The relatively cool weather will continue this week, with the temperature ranging between 32 to 34 degrees Celsius. Thunderstorms may affect some districts this afternoon, and from tomorrow to Friday cloudy skies are expected over the city.

(Shanghai Daily August 15, 2007)