The nation needs to step up its water conservation efforts due to this year’s lack of typhoons — which are a major source of water — the Central Weather Bureau said yesterday.
The bureau gave a general weather forecast for the fall season, with its presentation showing that there would be only about 1.2 typhoons hitting the nation between next month and November.
The presentation also showed that Typhoon Matmo was the only system that affected Taiwan this summer.
Photo: CNA
The bureau said no typhoon formed in the northwest of the Pacific Ocean this month, although Typhoon Genevieve formed in the east Pacific and crossed over to the northwest Pacific.
The bureau’s weather forecast center director Cheng Ming-dean (鄭明典) said the low number of typhoons hitting the nation this year would not only set a new record since the bureau started issuing alerts in 1958, but it also is below the number previously forecast by the bureau.
Before the summer began, the bureau forecast that three to five typhoons would hit the nation this year. However, the bureau’s presentation yesterday showed the nation is more likely to be hit by fewer than two typhoons this year.
The lack of typhoons during the summer could lead to a water shortage, Cheng said, adding that central and southern regions could enter the dry season in October.
According to the bureau, rain in the nation’s typhoon season generally accounts for about 40 to 60 percent of the annual rainfall, depending on the region.
Cheng said meteorologists had previously forecast the occurrence of El Nino this year, during which warm ocean temperatures would cause droughts in Taiwan, the Philippines, Indonesia and other regions in the western Pacific.
However, he said that the effect has yet to occur, and that countries like the US and Australia had downgraded their El Nino forecasts.
“Even if there is a chance for the El Nino effect to develop, it is likely to be a weak one,” Cheng said.
Though the chance of typhoons hitting Taiwan between next month and November is now lower than previously estimated, Cheng said typhoons could still form in the northwest Pacific during the following two months, with the number likely to be higher than climate average.
“Because typhoons which form in the fall tend to stay longer over the sea, they could potentially turn into medium or stronger typhoons. People in the northeast region should beware of heavy rainfall brought by the combined effect of typhoons’ peripheral cloud systems and northeasterly monsoon winds,” he said.
The bureau’s forecast also showed that temperatures should average between 27?C and 28.3?C in September and between 24.2?C and 27.2?C in October.
The average temperature should drop to 20.9?C from 24.4?C in November, the bureau said.
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