A tropical depression near Guam is likely to turn into a tropical storm and could start affecting the weather in Taiwan on Wednesday, the Central Weather Bureau said yesterday.
The tropical depression is still about 3,000km away, but a strong high air-pressure system in the Pacific Ocean could drive it west, it said.
If it turns into a tropical storm, it would be named Rammasun, the “god of thunder” in Thai, the bureau said.
Though the tropical depression is still too far to have any effect on the weather in Taiwan this week, the bureau said that the system would move near the coast of the Philippines on Wednesday and Thursday. Chances of rain in the nation’s east coast will increase as winds in the east or southeast rise.
Rains would help drive temperatures down to about 32°C.
Statistics from the bureau showed that foehn winds in Dawu (大武), Taitung County, rose yesterday morning, causing the mercury to hit 37°C at 11:14am. Temperatures in Taipei and New Taipei City’s Banciao District (板橋) also rose to 35.9°C and 35.8°C respectively.
Typhoon Neoguri, which wreaked havoc on Japan this week, has been reduced to an extratropical cyclone.
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A strong continental cold air mass is to bring pollutants to Taiwan from tomorrow, the Ministry of Environment said today, as it issued an “orange” air quality alert for most of the country. All of Taiwan except for Hualien and Taitung counties is to be under an “orange” air quality alert tomorrow, indicating air quality that is unhealthy for sensitive groups. In China, areas from Shandong to Shanghai have been enveloped in haze since Saturday, the ministry said in a news release. Yesterday, hourly concentrations of PM2.5 in these areas ranged from 65 to 160 micrograms per cubic meter (mg/m³), and pollutants were
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