A Chinese Culture University (CCU) professor last month launched a rainbow forecasting system aimed at helping tourists, meteorologists and photographers know when and where to find rainbows.
Atmospheric science professor Chou Kun-hsuan (周昆炫) said earlier this week that the “Rainbow Weather Index” is based on data from the Central Weather Bureau and the university, such as precipitation, wind speed, wind direction and humidity.
After months of adjustments, Chou launched the system and said it is now 85 percent accurate in predicting a rainbow.
Photo provided by Chinese Culture University via CNA
“We hope the service, which is only available for this region, can attract more people to look for rainbows on our campus,” Chou said.
He created the index after he, his colleagues and students documented a rainbow in Taipei’s Yangmingshan (陽明山) that lasted almost nine hours in 2017, and was last year recognized by Guinness World Records as the longest rainbow recorded, he said.
Chou analyzed the weather conditions between Nov. 1 last year and Jan. 31, and found that a rainbow appeared on 23 of those days, which he used to establish the forecasting system in June, he said.
The index was designed to reflect high, medium and low probabilities of a rainbow occurring, with a 74 percent or higher chance considered high, 63-74 percent considered medium and 63 percent or lower deemed low, Chou said.
In “high” probability scenarios, significant northeasterly winds provide sufficient moisture, accompanied with sunlight that is sufficient to keep the rainbow bright, he said.
Between Oct. 29 and Sunday last week, forecasts and actual conditions matched 29 days for a rainbow to occur.
“We have the right formula here in Yangmingshan,” Chou said, adding that compared with rainbows that appear following summer afternoon thunderstorms, rainbows generated by seasonal winds in winter last longer.
One-third of Taiwan’s rainbows each year occur between November and January, which Chou calls the “hot season.”
Rainbow chasers could start on Wednesday, when according to the index, there is an 87.05 percent chance of seeing a rainbow.
Travel agencies in Taiwan are working to secure alternative flights for travelers bound for New Zealand for the Lunar New Year holiday, as Air New Zealand workers are set to strike next week. The airline said that it has confirmed that the planned industrial action by its international wide-body cabin crew would go ahead on Thursday and Friday next week. While the Auckland-based carrier pledged to take reasonable measures to mitigate the impact of the workers’ strike, an Air New Zealand flight arriving at Taipei from Auckland on Thursday and another flight departing from Taipei for Auckland on Saturday would have to
The manufacture of the remaining 28 M1A2T Abrams tanks Taiwan purchased from the US has recently been completed, and they are expected to be delivered within the next one to two months, a source said yesterday. The Ministry of National Defense is arranging cargo ships to transport the tanks to Taiwan as soon as possible, said the source, who is familiar with the matter. The estimated arrival time ranges from late this month to early next month, the source said. The 28 Abrams tanks make up the third and final batch of a total of 108 tanks, valued at about NT$40.5 billion
A group from the Taiwanese Designers in Australia association yesterday represented Taiwan at the Midsumma Pride March in Melbourne. The march, held in the St. Kilda suburb, is the city’s largest LGBTQIA+ parade and the flagship event of the annual Midsumma Festival. It attracted more than 45,000 spectators who supported the 400 groups and 10,000 marchers that participated this year, the association said. Taiwanese Designers said they organized a team to march for Taiwan this year, joining politicians, government agencies, professionals and community organizations in showing support for LGBTQIA+ people and diverse communities. As the first country in Asia to legalize same-sex
The Taipei City Government yesterday confirmed that it has negotiated a royalties of NT$12.2 billion (US$380 million) with artificial intelligence (AI) chip giant Nvidia Corp, with the earliest possible signing date set for Wednesday next week. The city has been preparing for Nvidia to build its Taiwan headquarters in Beitou-Shilin Technology Park since last year, and the project has now entered its final stage before the contract is signed. Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) said the city government has completed the royalty price negotiations and would now push through the remaining procedures to sign the contract before
RSS