Temperatures in many areas north of Chiayi and Hualien counties, as well as in Penghu County, are to stay below 10°C today, but rain is expected to abate, the Central Weather Bureau said yesterday.
The bureau said a cold front affecting northern Taiwan was moving southward, and would keep temperatures low over the weekend in areas as far south as Chiayi and Hualien counties, with some areas in northern parts of those counties reaching lows of about 6°C.
“You won’t notice a significant rise in daytime temperatures over the weekend, but some areas could see the mercury hit 10°C or 11°C,” bureau forecaster Chang Cheng-chuan (張承傳) said. “By Monday, things will stabilize and temperatures will reach a much warmer 20°C.”
Photo: Chen Chih-chu, Taipei Times
However, while rain will weaken today in most areas, there is a 30 to 40 percent chance of precipitation in some parts of Keelung, Yilan County and Hualien, particularly in mountainous areas, he said.
The southward moving front is to affect air quality in parts of southern Taiwan, including Yunlin, Chiayi and Nantou counties, over the weekend, he said, adding that air quality in Penghu and along the east coast is forecast to be good.
An “orange” alert would be issued for air quality in coastal areas between Changhua and Chiayi counties, he said.
Meanwhile, the Pingtung Public Health Bureau said that unusually cold temperatures during this year’s Lunar New Year holiday caused a surge in emergency room visits at hospitals in the county.
Visits to emergency rooms during the first five days of the holiday were up 39.5 percent from the same period last year, rising from 6,994 visits last year to 9,701 this year, the bureau said.
The number of people treated for acute or severe conditions also increased, with the number of level 1 triage patients rising by 28.3 percent and the number of level 2 triage patients increasing by 37.5 percent.
The bureau said that Pingtung Christian Hospital registered 2,136 emergency room visits between Saturday and Thursday, with most patients having respiratory and gastrointestinal conditions.
Thirty-one people had to be resuscitated at the hospital, the bureau said.
So far this year, about 40 percent of people seeking medical treatment at the hospital had respiratory conditions, such as acute upper respiratory infection, acute nasopharyngitis, influenza or acute bronchitis, the hospital said.
People with chronic diseases such as high blood pressure or diabetes should pay attention to weather changes and their diet, and take medicine according to their doctor’s advice, the bureau said.
“Don’t stop taking medicine because of travel or dinner [arrangements] that will cause blood pressure and blood sugar to fluctuate,” it said.
NO-LIMITS PARTNERSHIP: ‘The bottom line’ is that if the US were to have a conflict with China or Russia it would likely open up a second front with the other, a US senator said Beijing and Moscow could cooperate in a conflict over Taiwan, the top US intelligence chief told the US Senate this week. “We see China and Russia, for the first time, exercising together in relation to Taiwan and recognizing that this is a place where China definitely wants Russia to be working with them, and we see no reason why they wouldn’t,” US Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines told a US Senate Committee on Armed Services hearing on Thursday. US Senator Mike Rounds asked Haines about such a potential scenario. He also asked US Defense Intelligence Agency Director Lieutenant General Jeffrey Kruse
INSPIRING: Taiwan has been a model in the Asia-Pacific region with its democratic transition, free and fair elections and open society, the vice president-elect said Taiwan can play a leadership role in the Asia-Pacific region, vice president-elect Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) told a forum in Taipei yesterday, highlighting the nation’s resilience in the face of geopolitical challenges. “Not only can Taiwan help, but Taiwan can lead ... not only can Taiwan play a leadership role, but Taiwan’s leadership is important to the world,” Hsiao told the annual forum hosted by the Center for Asia-Pacific Resilience and Innovation think tank. Hsiao thanked Taiwan’s international friends for their long-term support, citing the example of US President Joe Biden last month signing into law a bill to provide aid to Taiwan,
China’s intrusive and territorial claims in the Indo-Pacific region are “illegal, coercive, aggressive and deceptive,” new US Indo-Pacific Commander Admiral Samuel Paparo said on Friday, adding that he would continue working with allies and partners to keep the area free and open. Paparo made the remarks at a change-of-command ceremony at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam in Hawaii, where he took over the command from Admiral John Aquilino. “Our world faces a complex problem set in the troubling actions of the People’s Republic of China [PRC] and its rapid buildup of forces. We must be ready to answer the PRC’s increasingly intrusive and
STATE OF THE NATION: The legislature should invite the president to deliver an address every year, the TPP said, adding that Lai should also have to answer legislators’ questions The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) yesterday proposed inviting president-elect William Lai (賴清德) to make a historic first state of the nation address at the legislature following his inauguration on May 20. Lai is expected to face many domestic and international challenges, and should clarify his intended policies with the public’s representatives, KMT caucus secretary-general Hung Meng-kai (洪孟楷) said when making the proposal at a meeting of the legislature’s Procedure Committee. The committee voted to add the item to the agenda for Friday, along with another similar proposal put forward by the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP). The invitation is in line with Article 15-2