A cold front from China is to arrive today as most people return to work, with the mercury in northern Taiwan forecast to drop first, the Central Weather Bureau said yesterday.
The weather was mostly warm over the week-long Lunar New Year holiday, but daytime temperatures in northern Taiwan are expected drop to 15°C to 17°C today, down from above 20°C yesterday, with sporadic rain expected in northern and eastern Taiwan, the bureau forecast.
In other regions, the temperature drop would not be that obvious until tonight, the bureau said.
Photo: CNA
From tomorrow to Friday morning, the weather would become drier and cooler, with temperatures in northern and central Taiwan, as well as Yilan and Hualien counties, forecast to drop to 10°C to 12°C, the bureau said.
The outlying islands of Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu should brace for stronger, colder winds from today through Friday, with sporadic rain expected in Matsu, it said.
From Friday to Monday next week, weather across the nation would become warmer during the day, but would still be cool in the mornings and evenings, it said.
Meanwhile, air quality in central and southern Taiwan would become poorer through Friday, the Environmental Protection Administration’s three-day forecast showed.
When the wind blows from the east or the northeast, air pollutants in central and southern Taiwan do not disperse easily, as they are on the leeward side of the Central Mountain Range, the forecast said.
From yesterday through Friday, the air quality index would be orange — meaning the air quality is unhealthy for sensitive groups — in Tainan and Kaohsiung, and Yunlin, Chiayi and Pingtung counties, it said.
From tomorrow, the air quality index for Taipei and New Taipei City would turn from green to a moderate level of yellow, it said.
From Friday, the air quality in Taichung, and Changhua and Nantou counties would turn from yellow to orange, it said.
The air quality in eastern Taiwan would remain good throughout the week, the forecast said.
RETHINK? The defense ministry and Navy Command Headquarters could take over the indigenous submarine project and change its production timeline, a source said Admiral Huang Shu-kuang’s (黃曙光) resignation as head of the Indigenous Submarine Program and as a member of the National Security Council could affect the production of submarines, a source said yesterday. Huang in a statement last night said he had decided to resign due to national security concerns while expressing the hope that it would put a stop to political wrangling that only undermines the advancement of the nation’s defense capabilities. Taiwan People’s Party Legislator Vivian Huang (黃珊珊) yesterday said that the admiral, her older brother, felt it was time for him to step down and that he had completed what he
Taiwan has experienced its most significant improvement in the QS World University Rankings by Subject, data provided on Sunday by international higher education analyst Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) showed. Compared with last year’s edition of the rankings, which measure academic excellence and influence, Taiwanese universities made great improvements in the H Index metric, which evaluates research productivity and its impact, with a notable 30 percent increase overall, QS said. Taiwanese universities also made notable progress in the Citations per Paper metric, which measures the impact of research, achieving a 13 percent increase. Taiwanese universities gained 10 percent in Academic Reputation, but declined 18 percent
CHINA REACTS: The patrol and reconnaissance plane ‘transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,’ the 7th Fleet said, while Taipei said it saw nothing unusual The US 7th Fleet yesterday said that a US Navy P-8A Poseidon flew through the Taiwan Strait, a day after US and Chinese defense heads held their first talks since November 2022 in an effort to reduce regional tensions. The patrol and reconnaissance plane “transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,” the 7th Fleet said in a news release. “By operating within the Taiwan Strait in accordance with international law, the United States upholds the navigational rights and freedoms of all nations.” In a separate statement, the Ministry of National Defense said that it monitored nearby waters and airspace as the aircraft
UNDER DISCUSSION: The combatant command would integrate fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups to defend waters closest to the coastline, a source said The military could establish a new combatant command as early as 2026, which would be tasked with defending Taiwan’s territorial waters 24 nautical miles (44.4km) from the nation’s coastline, a source familiar with the matter said yesterday. The new command, which would fall under the Naval Command Headquarters, would be led by a vice admiral and integrate existing fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups, along with the Naval Maritime Surveillance and Reconnaissance Command, said the source, who asked to remain anonymous. It could be launched by 2026, but details are being discussed and no final timetable has been announced, the source