The cold weather and economic downturn did little to suppress the joyful spirits of the 600,000 revelers who gathered in front of Taipei City Hall last night, as they shouted out the countdown and celebrated the arrival of the New Year watching a breathtaking Taipei 101 Fireworks Show.
The MRT systems in both Taipei and Kaohsiung were flooded with passengers eager to attend countdowns to the New Year. From 6am on Wednesday to 6am yesterday, the number of passengers passing through Taipei’s MRT stations had topped approximately 1.95 million, up by about 20,000 passengers compared with last year, Taipei Rapid Transit Corp said yesterday.
The MRT system in Kaohsiung transported about 300,000 people flocking to the New Year Party at the Dream Mall. Yesterday was the first time that the system had been operational on New Year’s Eve and it lengthened its business hours to 2am.
A New Year Concert in Taichung ended peacefully without any conflict, despite tensions caused by the county’s decision to ban the national flag from the event.
The concert was co-organized by the Taichung County Government and the Broadcasting Foundation of Fujian Province. Part of the deal involved an agreement to bar the display of the national flag, which upset members of the Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP) Taichung Chapter.
In protest, DPP members distributed more than 3,000 national flags to the audience at the concert.
No one was banned for carrying or waving the flag.
A drastic increase in mobile activity on New Year’s Eve also crashed Taiwan Mobile Corp’s (台灣大哥大) computer systems. The service was unavailable between 11:30pm to 3:30am.
While Chunghwa Telecom (中華電信) and Far Eastone Telecommunication Co (遠傳電信) suffered no interruptions, all three of the nation’s largest operators reported an increase in people sending text messages.
Temperatures nationwide dropped significantly yesterday morning. Tamsui was identified as the nation’s coldest large town, with the temperature reaching only 9.6ºC.
The cold weather is expected to continue through tomorrow.
Those braving the early morning chill in Alishan got to enjoy the sunrise, which occurred at 7:05am, but those watching in Green Island and Kenting were not so fortunate as thick clouds blocked out the sunrise along the East Coast.
Heavy traffic was reported yesterday on the national freeways, with approximately 350,000 cars on the road during the toll-free hours between 12am and 7am, 2.3 times more than average.
The heaviest traffic was within the first two hours of the New Year, with large numbers of homeward bound travelers on the road.
Cars were bumper to bumper on certain sections of the highways between Taoyuan and Jhongli (中壢), Sanying (三鶯) and Dasi (大溪) and Nangang (南港) and Pinglin (坪林).
Foreign travelers entering Taiwan on a short layover via Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport are receiving NT$600 gift vouchers from yesterday, the Tourism Administration said, adding that it hopes the incentive would boost tourism consumption at the airport. The program, which allows travelers holding non-Taiwan passports who enter the country during a layover of up to 24 hours to claim a voucher, aims to promote attractions at the airport, the agency said in a statement on Friday. To participate, travelers must sign up on the campaign Web site, the agency said. They can then present their passport and boarding pass for their connecting international
Temperatures in northern Taiwan are forecast to reach as high as 30°C today, as an ongoing northeasterly seasonal wind system weakens, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. CWA forecaster Tseng Chao-cheng (曾昭誠) said yesterday that with the seasonal wind system weakening, warmer easterly winds would boost the temperature today. Daytime temperatures in northern Taiwan and Yilan County are expected to range from 28°C to 30°C today, up about 3°C from yesterday, Tseng said. According to the CWA, temperature highs in central and southern Taiwan could stay stable. However, the weather is expected to turn cooler starting tonight as the northeasterly wind system strengthens again
COOLING OFF: Temperatures are expected to fall to lows of about 20°C on Sunday and possibly 18°C to 19°C next week, following a wave of northeasterly winds on Friday The Central Weather Administration (CWA) on Sunday forecast more rain and cooler temperatures for northern Taiwan this week, with the mercury dropping to lows of 18°C, as another wave of northeasterly winds sweeps across the country. The current northeasterly winds would continue to affect Taiwan through today, with precipitation peaking today, bringing increased rainfall to windward areas, CWA forecaster Liu Pei-teng (劉沛滕) said. The weather system would weaken slightly tomorrow before another, stronger wave arrives on Friday, lasting into next week, Liu said. From yesterday to today, northern Taiwan can expect cool, wet weather, with lows of 22°C to 23°C in most areas,
Taiwan sweltered through its hottest October on record, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday, the latest in a string of global temperature records. The main island endured its highest average temperature since 1950, CWA forecaster Liu Pei-teng said. Temperatures the world over have soared in recent years as human-induced climate change contributes to ever more erratic weather patterns. Taiwan’s average temperature was 27.381°C as of Thursday, Liu said. Liu said the average could slip 0.1°C by the end of yesterday, but it would still be higher than the previous record of 27.009°C in 2016. "The temperature only started lowering around Oct. 18 or 19
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