The wet and cold weather might end on Wednesday and continuing rains might release northern Taiwan from a drought, governmental authorities said yesterday.
According the Central Weather Bureau, the whole nation was yesterday affected by a cold front. The lowest temperature yesterday, 9.9?C, was measured in Tamshui, Taipei County. Temperatures in Taipei and Hsinchu County were a mere 10.9?C. The temperature measured in central Taiwan at Wuchi township, Taichung County, was 11.1?C.
Forecasters said yesterday that temperatures today would not be much higher.
According to forecaster Wu Wan-hua (
The bureau last night issued rain warnings to residents in the north, saying that umbrellas and raincoats would be necessities for people going outdoors today. In addition, torrential rains might be seen today in remote mountainous areas in eastern and southern Taiwan, forecasters said.
Forecasters said that residents in eastern and southern Taiwan could also expect rain today.
"Although the cold front will become weaker and rain might stop on Wednesday, rainy weather will begin again on Thursday," Wu said.
Water resources officials said the recent good rains will relieve the drought in the northern regions.
Feitsui Reservoir director Kang Shih-fang (
As of press time, the water level at the reservoir was at 157.6m and the 62mm of rainfall measured yesterday was the highest in a single day this year.
"We predict that the reservoir will be able to supply water as normal by the end of May," Kang said.
Statistics show that the reservoir has collected 117mm of rainfall and stored 17 million tonnes of water in the first week of this month.
Water supply to heavy users in northern Taiwan has been reduced to 80 percent in Taipei City and Taipei, Taoyuan and Hsinchu counties, from last Friday. Heavy water users include those who run saunas and car-washing services. Meanwhile, water supplies to the industrial sector will be reduced to 95 percent.
Officials of the Water Resources Agency (WRA) said that the situation at major reservoirs was even worse than in 2002, when the Cabinet first established a drought disaster-relief task force to fight against what was then the worst drought in the last two decades.
WRA director-general Chen Shen-hsien (
"We try not to affect people's daily life and the production process of the industrial sector," Chen said.
Last year, no water restriction measure was adopted that affected the public. This year, Chen said, the drought would be managed even more skillfully.
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