The nation’s outlying Orchid Island (蘭嶼) will be the first location in the country to welcome the sun on New Year’s Day, with the first glimpse of the rising sun expected at 6:33am, the Central Weather Bureau (CWB) said yesterday.
For those hoping to greet the first sunrise on the main island of Taiwan, the CWB said the top options would be major scenic spots in southern Taiwan.
EARLIEST SUNRISE
According to the bureau, Ken-ding (墾丁) in Pingtung County and Sansiantai (三仙台) along the southeastern coast in Taitung County will both see the sunrise at 6:35am, the earliest anywhere on the island.
In northern Taiwan, the best location will be Sandiaojiao (三貂角) in Taipei County, where the sunrise is expected to take place at 6:37am.
The bureau’s astronomic -observatory explained that because the incident angle of the sun (the angle at which it strikes the Earth’s surface) is steep in the southern hemisphere in December, the further south people go, the earlier they will see the sunrise.
LAST SUNSET
“Daytime in southern Taiwan will be slightly longer than in northern areas, which explains why the sunrise comes earlier and the sun sets later there,” said an associate technical specialist with the observatory surnamed Ho (侯).
As a result, people who want to wave farewell to the last sunset of the year should also head south, where they can see it at 17:25pm in Cigu (七股) in Tainan County and Cijin (旗津) in Kaohsiung City, according to the CWB report.
Three Taiwanese airlines have prohibited passengers from packing Bluetooth earbuds and their charger cases in checked luggage. EVA Air and Uni Air said that Bluetooth earbuds and charger cases are categorized as portable electronic devices, which should be switched off if they are placed in checked luggage based on international aviation safety regulations. They must not be in standby or sleep mode. However, as charging would continue when earbuds are placed in the charger cases, which would contravene international aviation regulations, their cases must be carried as hand luggage, they said. Tigerair Taiwan said that earbud charger cases are equipped
UNILATERAL MOVES: Officials have raised concerns that Beijing could try to exert economic control over Kinmen in a key development plan next year The Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) yesterday said that China has so far failed to provide any information about a new airport expected to open next year that is less than 10km from a Taiwanese airport, raising flight safety concerns. Xiamen Xiangan International Airport is only about 3km at its closest point from the islands in Kinmen County — the scene of on-off fighting during the Cold War — and construction work can be seen and heard clearly from the Taiwan side. In a written statement sent to Reuters, the CAA said that airports close to each other need detailed advanced
Tropical Storm Fung-Wong would likely strengthen into a typhoon later today as it continues moving westward across the Pacific before heading in Taiwan’s direction next week, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. As of 8am, Fung-Wong was about 2,190km east-southeast of Cape Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, moving westward at 25kph and possibly accelerating to 31kph, CWA data showed. The tropical storm is currently over waters east of the Philippines and still far from Taiwan, CWA forecaster Tseng Chao-cheng (曾昭誠) said, adding that it could likely strengthen into a typhoon later in the day. It is forecast to reach the South China Sea
WEATHER Typhoon forming: CWA A tropical depression is expected to form into a typhoon as early as today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday, adding that the storm’s path remains uncertain. Before the weekend, it would move toward the Philippines, the agency said. Some time around Monday next week, it might reach a turning point, either veering north toward waters east of Taiwan or continuing westward across the Philippines, the CWA said. Meanwhile, the eye of Typhoon Kalmaegi was 1,310km south-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, as of 2am yesterday, it said. The storm is forecast to move through central
RSS