The Central Weather Bureau (CWB) said yesterday that the average temperature this month might have been 3˚C or 4˚C higher than the monthly average, making it the warmest February in the past 50 years.
Forecast Center Director Daniel Wu (吳德榮) said the bureau will not have complete statistics until today, when it is scheduled to have collected all data for the month.
However, the average temperature as of Thursday has already exceeded the monthly average by 3.43˚C, he said.
Wu said the higher temperatures this month were likely caused by a weak cold high pressure system this year that was supposed to bring cold fronts from the north to the south.
Since the high pressure was not able to move south, the country has been relatively warmer, he said.
There was also less rain this month than usual for a February.
The bureau forecast that the average temperature was likely to fall within the range of normal monthly temperature for next month through May.
However, the chances for less or normal rainfall are considererd high during these months, the forecasters said.
Wu said the strength of stationary fronts that usually linger above the nation in the spring would determine the amount of rainfall.
Wu said the water temperature near the equator in the central and eastern parts of the Pacific Ocean remains low.
The indicator for water temperature last month was -1˚C, he said.
Whether the La Nina phenomena would appear this year could not yet be determined, Wu said, adding that further observation was needed.
La Nina means “little girl” in Spanish and refers to the extensive cooling of the central and eastern Pacific.
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