The temperature in Taipei broke an 82-year-old record yesterday, hitting 38.7℃ , according to the Central Weather Bureau.
Air currents from Typhoon Etau, now battering Japan, brought rainfall yesterday to eastern and southern Taiwan.
But in the drought-stricken north, people can walk across the dry bed of the Hsintien River.
The temperature hit the record at 1:05pm yesterday.
According to the bureau, the previous record of 38.6℃ was set on July 31, 1921.
"It's because Taipei Basin is on the leeward side in the summer when southwest wind blows," said Wu Wan-hua (
Wu said that the weather was affected by peripheral winds induced by Typhoon Etau.
In addition, foehn winds, warm dry winds coming off the lee slopes of a mountain range, heated the basin.
The highest temperature this year, 39.2℃ , was set on May 7 in Tawu township, Taitung County, due to the effects of foehn winds.
The all-time high record in Taiwan, 39.6℃ , was also set in Tawu in May 1998.
Weather forecasters said yesterday that residents in the north should be prepared for possible water shortages because the rainfall for this month and next month may remain low.
According to Chen Guay-hong (
"The sub-high currently covering part of China and all of Taiwan is extraordinarily strong this year," Chen said.
Beginning today, Keelung City will impose a second phase of water restrictions, which will affect some industrial users.
The measure is designed to limit the consumption of water at Keelung's Hsinshan Reservoir.
According to the Water Resources Agency, the reservoir will be empty by early next month in the absence of a heavy rainfall.
The Ministry of Economic Affairs will convene a meeting on Aug. 14 to review the latest rainfall records and water levels. The ministry will study the possibility of tighter water restrictions in the north.
Officials at the Feitsui Reservoir Administration under the Taipei City Government urged residents to conserve water.
The Feitsui Reservoir, one of the major water suppliers to the north, gained only 36.5mm of rainfall last month. It's level last month hit a record low for July.
Officials said that water supplies to the residential sector would not be affected before the end this month but added that tougher restrictions may be imposed in Taipei next month.
The military has spotted two Chinese warships operating in waters near Penghu County in the Taiwan Strait and sent its own naval and air forces to monitor the vessels, the Ministry of National Defense (MND) said. Beijing sends warships and warplanes into the waters and skies around Taiwan on an almost daily basis, drawing condemnation from Taipei. While the ministry offers daily updates on the locations of Chinese military aircraft, it only rarely gives details of where Chinese warships are operating, generally only when it detects aircraft carriers, as happened last week. A Chinese destroyer and a frigate entered waters to the southwest
A magnitude 6.1 earthquake struck off the coast of Yilan County at 8:39pm tonight, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said, with no immediate reports of damage or injuries. The epicenter was 38.7km east-northeast of Yilan County Hall at a focal depth of 98.3km, the CWA’s Seismological Center said. The quake’s maximum intensity, which gauges the actual physical effect of a seismic event, was a level 4 on Taiwan’s 7-tier intensity scale, the center said. That intensity level was recorded in Yilan County’s Nanao Township (南澳), Hsinchu County’s Guansi Township (關西), Nantou County’s Hehuanshan (合歡山) and Hualien County’s Yanliao (鹽寮). An intensity of 3 was
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s comment last year on Tokyo’s potential reaction to a Taiwan-China conflict has forced Beijing to rewrite its invasion plans, a retired Japanese general said. Takaichi told the Diet on Nov. 7 last year that a Chinese naval blockade or military attack on Taiwan could constitute a “survival-threatening situation” for Japan, potentially allowing Tokyo to exercise its right to collective self-defense. Former Japan Ground Self-Defense Force general Kiyofumi Ogawa said in a recent speech that the remark has been interpreted as meaning Japan could intervene in the early stages of a Taiwan Strait conflict, undermining China’s previous assumptions
Taiwan Railways Corp (TRC) today announced that Shin Kong Mitsukoshi has been selected as the preferred bidder to operate the Taipei Railway Station shopping mall, replacing the current operator, Breeze Development Co Ltd. Among eight qualified firms that delivered presentations and were evaluated by a review committee, Shin Kong Mitsukoshi was ranked first, while Breeze was named the runner-up, the rail company said in a statement. Contract negotiations are to proceed in accordance with regulations, it said, adding that if negotiations with the top bidder fail, it could invite the second-ranked applicant to enter talks. Breeze in a statement today expressed doubts over
RSS