A strong cold air mass is expected to arrive tonight, bringing a change in weather and a drop in temperature, according to the Central Weather Administration (CWA). It added that the coldest time would be early on Thursday morning, with temperatures in some areas dipping as low as 8°C.
Daytime highs yesterday were 22°C to 24°C in northern and eastern Taiwan, and about 25°C to 28°C in the central and southern regions, it said.
However, nighttime lows would dip to about 15°C to 16°C in central and northern Taiwan as well as the northeast, and 17°C to 19°C elsewhere, it said.
Photo provided by the Central Weather Administration
Tropical Storm Nokaen, currently east of the Philippines, is forecast to remain over the waters east of the country and poses no direct threat to Taiwan, the CWA said.
Starting today, conditions are expected to become more unsettled as the northeasterly system strengthens and moisture increases, raising the chance of rain along the northern coast and mountainous areas of Taipei and New Taipei City, it said, adding that areas north of Taoyuan and eastern Taiwan might also see brief showers.
The coldest temperatures are expected on Thursday morning, it said, adding that from Thursday to Saturday, there is a chance of snowfall possible on mountains above 3,000m, such as Hehuanshan (合歡山) and Hsuehshan (雪山), while areas at about 2,000m might see sleet or rime ice.
From Wednesday through Friday, the cold air mass is likely to linger and reach the level of a “strong continental cold air mass,” defined as Taipei temperatures dropping below 12°C, independent meteorologist Daniel Wu (吳德榮) said.
Temperatures in low-lying areas could fall to as low as 8°C, he said.
The cold air mass is expected to weaken from Saturday, with daytime temperatures rebounding, but mornings and evenings remaining cool, Wu said.
Additional reporting by Tsai Yun-jung
A Ministry of Foreign Affairs official yesterday said that a delegation that visited China for an APEC meeting did not receive any kind of treatment that downgraded Taiwan’s sovereignty. Department of International Organizations Director-General Jonathan Sun (孫儉元) said that he and a group of ministry officials visited Shenzhen, China, to attend the APEC Informal Senior Officials’ Meeting last month. The trip went “smoothly and safely” for all Taiwanese delegates, as the Chinese side arranged the trip in accordance with long-standing practices, Sun said at the ministry’s weekly briefing. The Taiwanese group did not encounter any political suppression, he said. Sun made the remarks when
The Taiwanese passport ranked 33rd in a global listing of passports by convenience this month, rising three places from last month’s ranking, but matching its position in January last year. The Henley Passport Index, an international ranking of passports by the number of designations its holder can travel to without a visa, showed that the Taiwan passport enables holders to travel to 139 countries and territories without a visa. Singapore’s passport was ranked the most powerful with visa-free access to 192 destinations out of 227, according to the index published on Tuesday by UK-based migration investment consultancy firm Henley and Partners. Japan’s and
BROAD AGREEMENT: The two are nearing a trade deal to reduce Taiwan’s tariff to 15% and a commitment for TSMC to build five more fabs, a ‘New York Times’ report said Taiwan and the US have reached a broad consensus on a trade deal, the Executive Yuan’s Office of Trade Negotiations said yesterday, after a report said that Washington is set to reduce Taiwan’s tariff rate to 15 percent. The New York Times on Monday reported that the two nations are nearing a trade deal to reduce Taiwan’s tariff rate to 15 percent and commit Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) to building at least five more facilities in the US. “The agreement, which has been under negotiation for months, is being legally scrubbed and could be announced this month,” the paper said,
MIXED SOURCING: While Taiwan is expanding domestic production, it also sources munitions overseas, as some, like M855 rounds, are cheaper than locally made ones Taiwan and the US plan to jointly produce 155mm artillery shells, as the munition is in high demand due to the Ukraine-Russia war and should be useful in Taiwan’s self-defense, Armaments Bureau Director-General Lieutenant General Lin Wen-hsiang (林文祥) told lawmakers in Taipei yesterday. Lin was responding to questions about Taiwan’s partnership with allies in producing munitions at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee. Given the intense demand for 155mm artillery shells in Ukraine’s defense against the Russian invasion, and in light of Taiwan’s own defensive needs, Taipei and Washington plan to jointly produce 155mm shells, said Lin,
RSS