THE heavy pollution that shrouded the city yesterday will continue to ease today, the Shanghai Environmental Monitoring Center said.

The rain showers that hit the city on Wednesday night were mostly to blame for yesterday’s bad air as they increased humidity, which in turn inhibited the natural dispersal of pollutants, the center said.

The air quality index began rising about 2am yesterday and by 6am had reached 262. The prevailing smog was worsened by vehicle emissions caused by the morning rush hour.