Taiwan’s average temperature rose 0.29oC in each of the three 10-year periods from the beginning of the 1990s until 2020, which is higher than the global average increase of 0.21oC, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said.
From 1898 to 2020, Taiwan’s temperature rose by an average of 0.11 degrees per decade, significantly lower than the 0.29 degrees per decade from 1991 to 2020, the CWA said on Facebook on Tuesday, based on data gathered from its 13 low-elevation weather observation stations.
The 13 stations — all at altitudes below 300m — are in Tamsui (淡水), Keelung, Taipei, Hsinchu, Taichung, Tainan, Kaohsiung, Hengchun (恆春), Yilan, Hualien, Chenggong (成功), Taitung and Dawu (大武).
Photo: CNA
Moreover, the impact of the western Pacific subtropical high widened and neared the west of Taiwan in the 2010s, reaching as close as China’s Hainan Island, it said, adding that the effects of the circulation system are making the weather hotter.
Asked about the phenomenon, Lo Tzu-ting (羅資婷), head of the CWA’s climate forecasting division, on Wednesday said that previous studies showed that warming is more significant over land than the ocean and that the northern hemisphere is warming faster than the southern hemisphere because of its larger landmass.
East Asia is warming faster than the global average and this is why Taiwan’s average temperature is surging at a faster rate than the world average, Lo added.
The impact of climate change on East Asia has also caused a weakening of the winter northeast monsoon, making temperature increases in winter more notable than those in summer, she said.
Asked about the impact of El Nino this year, Lo said that such weather events typically occur every five to seven years and therefore the long-term statistical impact of El Nino is relatively small.
In terms of rainfall, although there was no significant change in overall annual precipitation in Taiwan, the intensity of extreme rainfall has increased, the CWA said.
Recent CWA observation data showed that there was a decline in spring rains and the number of consecutive wet days decreased in southern Taiwan.
Climate change will gradually affect Taiwan’s rainfall patterns and the country will become drier in the dry season and wetter in the wet season, with fewer consecutive rainy days, a rising number of consecutive non-rainy days and an increasing number of extreme precipitation events during the plum rain season, the agency said.
ANOTHER EMERGES: The CWA yesterday said this year’s fourth storm of the typhoon season had formed in the South China Sea, but was not expected to affect Taiwan Tropical Storm Gaemi has intensified slightly as it heads toward Taiwan, where it is expected to affect the country in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. As of 8am yesterday, the 120km-radius storm was 800km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost tip, moving at 9kph northwest, the agency said. A sea warning for Gaemi could be issued tonight at the earliest, it said, adding that the storm is projected to be closest to Taiwan on Wednesday or Thursday. Gaemi’s potential effect on Taiwan remains unclear, as that would depend on its direction, radius and intensity, forecasters said. Former Weather Forecast
As COVID-19 cases in Japan have been increasing for 10 consecutive weeks, people should get vaccinated before visiting the nation, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said. The centers reported 773 hospitalizations and 124 deaths related to COVID-19 in Taiwan last week. CDC Epidemic Intelligence Center Director Guo Hung-wei (郭宏偉) on Tuesday said the number of weekly COVID-19 cases reported in Japan has been increasing since mid-May and surpassed 55,000 cases from July 8 to July 14. The average number of COVID-19 patients at Japan’s healthcare facilities that week was also 1.39 times that of the week before and KP.3 is the dominant
The Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) working group for Taiwan-related policies is likely to be upgraded to a committee-level body, a report commissioned by the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said. As Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) is increasingly likely to upgrade the CCP’s Central Leading Group for Taiwan Affairs, Taiwanese authorities should prepare by researching Xi and the CCP, the report said. At the third plenary session of the 20th Central Committee of the CCP, which ended on Thursday last week, the party set a target of 2029 for the completion of some tasks, meaning that Xi is likely preparing to
US-CHINA TRADE DISPUTE: Despite Beijing’s offer of preferential treatment, the lure of China has dimmed as Taiwanese and international investors move out Japan and the US have become the favored destinations for Taiwanese graduates as China’s attraction has waned over the years, the Ministry of Labor said. According to the ministry’s latest income and employment advisory published this month, 3,215 Taiwanese university graduates from the class of 2020 went to Japan, surpassing for the first time the 2,881 graduates who went to China. A total of 2,300 graduates from the class of 2021 went to the US, compared with the 2,262 who went to China, the document showed. The trend continued for the class of 2023, of whom 1,460 went to Japan, 1,334 went to