The mercury dropped to 7.3oC in Chiayi County early yesterday morning, the lowest temperature recorded so far this winter in the low-lying plains, the Central Weather Bureau announced. The temperature in Tamsui (
The bureau attributed the low temperature -- recorded along the Chiayi coast before sunrise at 6:58am -- to the onslaught of the winter's first cold front from the north and clear skies that have maximized cooling overnight.
In mountainous areas, temperatures of 0.4oC were recorded on Alishan in eastern Chiayi just after midnight yesterday, and minus 6.3oC on Yushan, Taiwan's highest mountain, at 5:22am. No snow fell in the two spots, however, because of low humidity levels, the bureau said.
The bureau also said that the cold weather is expected to lift by Saturday, with temperatures potentially reaching 22oC in the north and 25oC in the south.
GENSLER SURVEY: ‘Economic infrastructure is not enough. A city needs to inspire pride, offer moments of joy and foster a sense of belonging,’ the company said Taipei was named the city with the “highest staying power” in the world by US-based design and architecture firm Gensler. The Taiwanese capital earned the top spot among 65 cities across six continents with 64 percent of Taipei respondents in a survey of 33,000 people saying they wanted to stay in the city. Rounding out the top five were Vietnam’s Ho Chi Minh City (61 percent), Singapore (59 percent), Sydney (58 percent) and Berlin (51 percent). Sixth to 10th place went to Monterrey, Mexico; Munich, Germany; Sao Paulo, Brazil; Vancouver; and Seoul. Cities in the US were ranked separately, with Minneapolis first at
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Scoot announced yesterday that starting in October, it would increase flights between Taipei and Japan’s Narita airport and Hokkaido, and between Singapore and Taipei. The low-cost airline, a subsidiary of Singapore Airlines, also said it would launch flights to Chiang Rai in Thailand, Okinawa and Tokyo’s Haneda airport between December and March next year. Flights between Singapore and Chiang Rai would begin on Jan. 1, with five flights per week operated by an Embraer E190-E2 aircraft, Scoot said. Flights between Singapore and Okinawa would begin on Dec. 15, with three flights per week operated by Airbus A320 aircraft, the airline said. Services between Singapore
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