40% of flights grounded in Shanghai as long-lived Typhoon Dolphin moves north

Nearly 40% of flights were cancelled at Shanghai airports on Monday as Typhoon Dolphin continued to move north after making landfall in eastern China on Sunday evening. The capital city and multiple other areas were under high alert for the arrival of the long-lived typhoon, which is expected to linger for over 15 days, according to the National Meteorological Centre.

In Beijing, a red rainstorm alert was issued for several districts, with rain forecast to continue over the next three days, potentially causing increasingly heavy rainfall from Wednesday morning until evening. Flood control headquarters in Shanghai warned residents to take precautions, as some parts of the city could see accumulated water of up to 30cm.

Orange and yellow rainstorm alerts were also issued for multiple districts. While some trains began to resume service on Monday morning, four metro lines were completely halted due to heavy rain. In Zhejiang, where the typhoon first landed, Hangzhou airport resumed flight services by 10am, with 814 flights scheduled for Monday. The typhoon's remnants were expected to bring heavy rainfall to northern Hubei province, with up to 27cm possible.

Despite the intense weather, some passengers chose to take the train instead of waiting for cancelled flights. One passenger described spending 12 hours in the air only to land in Beijing, only to catch another flight and eventually land in Chengdu.