Expect a lot of rain in the next two months, the Central Weather Bureau warned yesterday as the nation's annual plum rain season approaches.
The natural weather cycle means the nation can expect heavy rainfall from mid-May through to mid-June, said Daniel Wu (吳德榮), director of the Weather Forecast Center at the bureau.
This period of time is referred to as meiyu jijie (梅雨季節), meaning "plum rain season," as it coincides with the plum season.
Rainy season
The plum rain season is the main annual rainy season in the country, as, on average, 25 percent of annual rainfall in the north comes within these two months, and "in south Taiwan, over 30 percent of [annual] rainfall comes during the plum rain season," Wu said.
"So far, we haven't seen anything that would cause dramatic change to this year's plum rain season, both rainfall and temperature forecasts fall within the average range," he said.
Within the two months, the amount of rainfall throughout the nation is expected to be between 560mm and 570mm, except in Hualien where the amount of rainfall is expected to be approximately 414mm, according to the forecast.
Temperature
Average temperatures in May will be in the low to mid-20s throughout the nation, except in the south where the average is expected to be from 26.9oC to 27.5oC.
In June, the average temperature will rise throughout the country to between 27oC to 28oC on average.
Although the plum rain season is a natural phenomenon, unexpected natural disasters could occur, Wu warned.
"Natural disasters caused by exceptionally heavy rain, thunder storms, strong winds, isolated occurrences of hail and tornadoes are possible," Wu said.
The Sports Administration yesterday demanded an apology from the national table tennis association for barring 17-year-old Yeh Yi-tian (葉伊恬) from competing in the upcoming World Table Tennis (WTT) United States Smash tournament in Las Vegas this July. The sports agency said in a statement that the Chinese Taipei Table Tennis Association (CTTTA) must explain to the public why it withdrew Yeh from the WTT tournament in Las Vegas. The sports agency said it contacted the association to express its disapproval of the decision-making process after receiving a complaint from Yeh’s coach, Chuang
Taipei has once again made it to the top 100 in Oxford Economics’ Global Cities Index 2025 report, moving up five places from last year to 60. The annual index, which was published last month, evaluated 1,000 of the most populated metropolises based on five indices — economics, human capital, quality of life, environment and governance. New York maintained its top spot this year, placing first in the economics index thanks to the strength of its vibrant financial industry and economic stability. Taipei ranked 263rd in economics, 44th in human capital, 15th in quality of life, 284th for environment and 75th in governance,
The Hualien Branch of the High Court today sentenced the main suspect in the 2021 fatal derailment of the Taroko Express to 12 years and six months in jail in the second trial of the suspect for his role in Taiwan’s deadliest train crash. Lee Yi-hsiang (李義祥), the driver of a crane truck that fell onto the tracks and which the the Taiwan Railways Administration's (TRA) train crashed into in an accident that killed 49 people and injured 200, was sentenced to seven years and 10 months in the first trial by the Hualien District Court in 2022. Hoa Van Hao, a
Control Yuan Secretary-General Lee Chun-yi (李俊俋) tendered his resignation last night, admitting that he had misused a government vehicle, as reported by media. His resignation was immediately accepted by the Control Yuan. In a statement explaining why he had resigned, Lee apologized for using a Control Yuan vehicle to transport his dog to a pet grooming salon on May 20. The issue first came to light late last month, when TVBS News reported that Lee had instructed his driver to take the dog to the salon. The news channel broadcast photos that it said were taken by an unnamed whistle-blower, which purportedly showed the
RSS