The Central Weather Bureau (CWB) said yesterday that the proliferation of typhoons this summer could be caused by the record strength of this year’s La Nina effect. Following a number of tropical storms and typhoons in July and last month, Taiwan has been hit by a typhoon almost every week this month, which the bureau said could be attributable to the westward migration of warm seas.
CWB Forecast Center Director Daniel Wu (吳德榮) said that when storms are formed further away from Taiwan, they gain enough momentum on their way to the country to develop into stronger storms.
Under normal weather conditions, storms usually form around Guam, the bureau said, but as the severe La Nina effect from last July to this July had caused the northwestern Pacific Ocean to be unusually cool, it was difficult for winds to form.
PHOTO: CHAN CHAO-YANG, TAIPEI TIMES
As such, the warmer sea regions migrated to east of the Philippines, where all of the first six typhoons this year were formed, the CWB said, adding that when they hit Taiwan, they were almost all mild storms.
In related news, a day ahead of Super Typhoon Jangmi’s arrival, Taipei City’s vegetable prices shot up 14 percent, with the costs of leafy vegetables and fruits increasing 20 percent.
Spring onions now cost as much as NT$86 per kilogram, cilantro broke the NT$300 per kilogram mark, and fruit has uniformly broken the NT$70 per kilogram benchmark, with tomatoes costing NT$110 per kilogram.
PHOTO: CHANG CHUNG-YI, TAIPEI TIMES
While Typhoon Sinlaku caused NT$890 million in agricultural losses two weeks ago, Jangmi had brought Taipei’s fruit and vegetable prices to NT$35.2 per kilogram — more than the Council of Agriculture’s NT$25 to NT$35 bracket for “reasonable prices.”
Hsu Hang-ching (許漢卿), director of the council’s agriculture and food agency, said it would regulate the market more aggressively, possibly releasing the government’s 900 tonne stock of frozen and refrigerated vegetables if necessary.
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY LIN SHIU-TZI AND CHANG CHUN-WEI
Eight Chinese naval vessels and 24 military aircraft were detected crossing the median line of the Taiwan Strait between 6am yesterday and 6am today, the Ministry of National Defense said this morning. The aircraft entered Taiwan’s northern, central, southwestern and eastern air defense identification zones, the ministry said. The armed forces responded with mission aircraft, naval vessels and shore-based missile systems to closely monitor the situation, it added. Eight naval vessels, one official ship and 36 aircraft sorties were spotted in total, the ministry said.
INCREASED CAPACITY: The flights on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays would leave Singapore in the morning and Taipei in the afternoon Singapore Airlines is adding four supplementary flights to Taipei per week until May to meet increased tourist and business travel demand, the carrier said on Friday. The addition would raise the number of weekly flights it operates to Taipei to 18, Singapore Airlines Taiwan general manager Timothy Ouyang (歐陽漢源) said. The airline has recorded a steady rise in tourist and business travel to and from Taipei, and aims to provide more flexible travel arrangements for passengers, said Ouyang, who assumed the post in July last year. From now until Saturday next week, four additional flights would depart from Singapore on Monday, Wednesday, Friday
The Ministry of National Defense yesterday reported the return of large-scale Chinese air force activities after their unexplained absence for more than two weeks, which had prompted speculation regarding Beijing’s motives. China usually sends fighter jets, drones and other military aircraft around the nation on a daily basis. Interruptions to such routine are generally caused by bad weather. The Ministry of National Defense said it had detected 26 Chinese military aircraft in the Taiwan Strait over the previous 24 hours. It last reported that many aircraft on Feb. 25, when it spotted 30 aircraft, saying Beijing was carrying out another “joint combat
Taiwan successfully defended its women’s 540 kilogram title and won its first-ever men’s 640 kg title at the 2026 World Indoor Tug of War Championships in Taipei yesterday. In the women’s event, Taiwan’s eight-person squad reached the final following a round-robin preliminary round and semifinals featuring teams from Ukraine, Japan, Thailand, Vietnam, the Basque Country and South Korea. In the finals, they swept the Basque team 2-0, giving the team composed mainly of National Taiwan Normal University students and graduates its second championship in a row, and its fourth in five years. Team captain
RSS