The nation enters typhoon season today and the Central Weather Bureau (CWB) says that three to five typhoons or tropical storms are likely to hit this year.
The typhoon season begins in July and ends in September. This year, however, four tropical storms have formed in the northwest Pacific Ocean since May, with Tropical Storm Linfa hitting the outlying islands of Taiwan.
Daniel Wu (吳德榮), director of the CWB’s forecast center, said that about 24 to 27 typhoons could form in the northwest Pacific Ocean this year, but only three to five of them would likely pose a threat to Taiwan.
Data from the past 30 years showed that the average number of typhoons in the northwest Pacific Ocean between July and September is 26.6. And on average, about three typhoons hit Taiwan, the bureau said.
In the past five years, however, the average number of typhoons in the same area during these three months was 24.2, with around four hitting Taiwan.
Wu added that sea temperature of the central Pacific would affect where typhoons or tropical storms form.
“The sea temperature has risen slightly,” he said. “This will potentially cause typhoons or tropical storms to form around Guam. In that case, typhoons are more likely to develop into major typhoons because they tend to stay longer over the sea and can absorb more water vapor.”
“So far, however, we’ve also seen tropical storms form around the South China Sea and the Philippines,” he said.
Wu also said meteorologists from the UK and Hong Kong estimated 27 typhoons would form in the northwest Pacific.
The bureau also presented figures on rainfall during the Plum Rain season, which lasts from May to June.
Accumulated rain in these two months normally accounts for one-third of annual rainfall.
Wu said the data showed that the amount of rainfall in May was less than average, but normal last month.
As of Sunday, the average accumulated rainfall at the bureau’s 13 observation stations nationwide was 279.6mm, or 227mm less than average.
This made this year’s Plum Rain season the fifth driest on record, following dry spells in 1980, 1954, 1971 and 2004.
Kenting National Park service technician Yang Jien-fon (楊政峰) won a silver award in World Grand Prix Photography Awards Spring Season for his photograph of two male rat snakes intertwined in combat. Yang’s colleagues at Kenting National Park said he is a master of nature photography who has been held back by his job in civil service. The awards accept entries in all four seasons across six categories: architectural and urban photography, black-and-white and fine art photography, commercial and fashion photography, documentary and people photography, nature and experimental photography, and mobile photography. Awards are ranked according to scores and divided into platinum, gold and
More than half of the bamboo vipers captured in Tainan in the past few years were found in the city’s Sinhua District (新化), while other districts had smaller catches or none at all. Every year, Tainan captures about 6,000 snakes which have made their way into people’s homes. Of the six major venomous snakes in Taiwan, the cobra, the many-banded krait, the brown-spotted pit viper and the bamboo viper are the most frequently captured. The high concentration of bamboo vipers captured in Sinhua District is puzzling. Tainan Agriculture Bureau Forestry and Nature Conservation Division head Chu Chien-ming (朱健明) earlier this week said that the
The first bluefin tuna of the season, brought to shore in Pingtung County and weighing 190kg, was yesterday auctioned for NT$10,600 (US$333.5) per kilogram, setting a record high for the local market. The auction was held at the fish market in Donggang Fishing Harbor, where the Siaoliouciou Island-registered fishing vessel Fu Yu Ching No. 2 delivered the “Pingtung First Tuna” it had caught for bidding. Bidding was intense, and the tuna was ultimately jointly purchased by a local restaurant and a local company for NT$10,600 per kilogram — NT$300 ,more than last year — for a total of NT$2.014 million. The 67-year-old skipper
BREACH OF CONTRACT: The bus operators would seek compensation and have demanded that the manufacturer replace the chips with ones that meet regulations Two bus operators found to be using buses with China-made chips are to demand that the original manufacturers replace the systems and provide compensation for breach of contract, the Veterans Affairs Council said yesterday. Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Michelle Lin (林楚茵) yesterday said that Da Nan Bus Co and Shin-Shin Bus Co Ltd have fielded a total of 82 buses that are using Chinese chips. The bus models were made by Tron-E, while the systems provider was CYE Electronics, Lin said. Lin alleged that the buses were using chips manufactured by Huawei subsidiary HiSilicon Co, which presents a national security risk if the
RSS