Fudging the Weather

According to Shanghaiist, we've moved from the previous Orange Alert on the weather to the current Red Alert issued yesterday by the Shanghai Meterological office. That means that it was friggin' hot out there before, but now it's - well, it's hotter than that.

Apparently, if the temperature reaches 40 degrees Celcius (104 degrees Fahrenheit) here in Shanghai, we all get a day off. So far, the official temperature reports are hanging around 39 degrees. Many Chinese people say that the weather bureau fudges the numbers so that the Shanghai machine doesn't grind to a halt. Whether that's true or not, I'm so glad to have a nicely air conditioned job.