The Central Weather Bureau (CWB) warned that the nation should brace for colder weather in the coming week as a continental cold air mass might develop into a cold wave, increasing the likelihood of rain on Monday.
Before the arrival of the air mass, a wave of seasonal northeasterly winds is expected to reach Taiwan, causing temperatures to dip from today, bureau forecaster Lee Meng-hsuan (李孟軒) said, adding that the strength of the monsoon winds would be comparable to those that affected the nation on Tuesday and Wednesday.
“The weather over the weekend is looking good, with temperatures on the rise by Sunday,” Lee said.
The cold air mass is forecast to roll in from the continent on Monday, Lee said, with temperatures slipping to 11°C in the north, 13°C in central areas and 15°C in the south.
“The bureau is not ruling out that the cold air mass could develop into a cold wave,” Lee said.
The air mass is expected to bring the rain clouds sweeping over southern China to Taiwan, increasing the chance of rain across the nation, with the exception of in the southern plains, Lee said.
Meanwhile, Taiwan is getting ahead of the curve in controlling air pollution from ships, with the Ministry of Transportation and Communications announcing yesterday a low-sulfur fuel oil regulation for ships entering its international ports, effective from Jan. 1 of next year.
According to the International Maritime Organization’s International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships, the global limit for sulfur content in ship fuel oil is to change from 3.5 percent mass by mass to 0.5 percent mass by mass from 2020.
Taiwan is from next year to require foreign ships entering its international ports and domestic ships sailing on international routes to use fuel with 0.5 percent mass by mass or less of sulfur, Department of Navigation and Aviation Deputy Director-General Yeh Hsieh-lung (葉協隆) said.
To encourage ships to make the switch even earlier, the ministry is to provide between Thursday next week and the end of the year a subsidy of NT$5,000 to all vessels entering Taiwanese ports if they make the change before the implementation date, Yeh said.
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