Tokyo was hit by snow Thursday last week at 6:15 in the morning (5:15am Taiwan time). Soon after the snow began falling, the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) announced the first snow of the season had been observed in downtown Tokyo, adding that it was the first November snow in the city in 54 years.
According to the JMA, a strong cold air mass advancing southward through the Kanto region and a low pressure system off the southern coast had caused snow to begin falling in the plains and mountains from Wednesday night to Thursday afternoon last week.
The snowfall was the result of a split polar vortex, similar to the weather pattern which led to the cold snap that hit Taiwan in January. However, this time, the cold wave will remain in the north and therefore have no effect on Taiwan.
Photo: Toru Hanai, Reuters
照片:路透社
The cold snap which hit Taiwan in late January sent the island’s temperature plummeting, even leading to snowfall in Taipei. Experts who analyzed the unusual temperature drop said it had been caused by arctic oscillation, as similar anomalies were also observed in north Europe, the US and other parts of Asia.
(Liberty Times and CNA, translated by Tu Yu-an)
東京上週四早上六時十五分(台灣五點時十五分)開始下雪,日本氣象廳隨即宣布「在東京的市中心觀測到初雪」,並指出這波十一月降雪是五十四年來首見。
根據日本氣象廳表示,降雪原因為關東地區上空有強烈寒流南下,加上南方海上有低氣壓通過,導致上週三晚上起至週四下午,關東地區的山區及平地陸續降雪。
這波降雪是受到「分裂極渦」的影響,類似年初我國遭遇超級寒流的天氣型態,不過這次冷空氣偏北通過,並未影響到台灣。
今年一月下旬襲擊我國的超級寒流讓全台陷入低溫,台北甚至出現罕見降雪,專家表示是受到「北極振盪」的負向位影響,才導致接連於北歐、亞洲及美國相繼出現異常低溫。
(自由時報綜合報導、中央社)
The strongest earthquake to hit Taiwan in 25 years killed at least 16 people and damaged dozens of buildings, but the destruction was largely contained thanks to decades of preparedness work. Taiwan sits on the “Ring of Fire,” an arc of intense seismic activity along the Pacific Rim, and — much like neighboring Japan — has a long history of catastrophic quakes. How does April 3 compare with other recent quakes? The April 3 earthquake, which measured 7.4 on the moment magnitude scale, was felt across Taiwan. It was the most severe since a 7.6 magnitude quake in 1999 killed
A: Artificial intelligence technology has been causing controversy lately: a student was caught cheating with AI to win the grand prize in an art contest. B: That’s so absurd. Does this mean that AI paints better than humans? A: Maybe. Luckily, the student was later disqualified. B: And more absurdly, it’s becoming more and more popular to use AI technology to “resurrect” people. A: Yeah, some netizens even posted videos featuring the late singer CoCo Lee, who was “resurrected” by them with AI software. A: 人工智慧的爭議不斷,有學生違規使用AI參加美術展,甚至贏得首獎。 B: 真誇張,這是不是代表AI比人類還強大? A: 或許吧,幸好得獎資格被取消。 B: 還有更誇張的︰讓死者重現的「AI復活」技術越來越熱門。 A: 對啊,還有網友製作已故歌后李玟「復活」的影片呢! (By Eddy Chang, Taipei Times/台北時報張聖恩)
Around the time of the Dragon Boat Festival in June, the streets of Taiwan are filled with the delightful aroma of zongzi, a traditional snack made of sticky rice wrapped in leaves. The leaves are folded into a cone and then filled with sticky rice and other ingredients such as braised pork belly, peanuts and salted duck egg yolks. The filled leaves are then tightly tied with kitchen twine and ready for cooking. 每到六月端午時節,街頭巷尾就會飄出粽子的香氣。粽子是將糯米包進粽葉的傳統美食,先將粽葉折成圓錐狀塞入糯米,以及紅燒肉、花生、鹹鴨蛋黃等配料,用棉線綁緊後即可烹煮。 Dragon Boat Festival (n. phr.) 端午節 aroma
It’s another school day with the same ritual. You wake up to your smartphone’s alarm, scroll through messages during your commute, and listen to your favorite playlist with your wireless earbuds between classes. These devices, integrated smoothly into your daily routine, certainly make life more convenient. However, where do these devices end up after you replace them? In fact, the issue of electronic waste is a growing global concern. According to the United Nations, in 2019 alone, we generated an astonishing 53.6 million tons of e-waste—an average of 7.3kg per person. Projections hint at the figure soaring to 110