The north of the country has been getting more rainfall over the past few years and the south has been getting less, according to an Academia Sinica researcher, who said the trend, if it continued, would have serious ramifications on the government's water resources policies.
Wang Chung-ho, a researcher at Academia Sinica's Institute of Earth Science who has been studying the nation's rainfall and its impact on the environment over the long term, urged the government to act quickly.
Citing data on rainfall over the past 100 years, Wang said that rainfall in northern regions had markedly increased in recent years, while rainfall in southern regions has been on the decline.
The average level of rainfall across the nation has been dropping since the 1940s, but the disparity in rainfall between the south and north has been increasing, suggesting that drought in the south and flooding in the north will become increasingly common if such rainfall patterns continue, he said.
The amount of rainfall in the north has increased by 20 percent -- or 600mm in recent years -- while rainfall in the south is down by 10 percent, he said.
At the same time, the number of rainy days in both the south and north Taiwan are fewer, with rainfall becoming stronger and more intense when it does come, he said.
Heavy rain can easily lead to flooding in areas that lack good sewerage systems, and will do little for places that lack the means to store water, he said.
The increasing dryness of Taiwan will mainly affect southwestern areas, including the Chianan Plain and the Pingtung Plain, which have long relied on artesian water for their needs, he said.
The continued overuse of artesian water is dangerous and will create many problems for coastal regions, he said.
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