Aside from helping the Central Weather Administration (CWA) forecast weather, the weather radar system used by the meteorology agency has another function: identifying the paths of Chinese sparrowhawks and gray-faced buzzards as they fly through Taiwan before reaching Southeast Asian nations.
The CWA has three types of radar systems, CWA Deputy Administrator Fong Chin-tzu (馮欽賜) said.
Those in Kenting National Park, Hualien County, Cigu District (七股) in Tainan, and Wufenshan (五分山) in New Taipei City are wide-range radars that allow it to observe land and sea atmospheric changes.
Photo: Tsai Yun-jung, Taipei Times
The CWA last year upgraded the radar systems in Cigu, Kenting and Hualien to dual polarization radar systems, enabling it to better distinguish between rain, snow and hail in the air and estimate rainfall more accurately, he said, adding that data gathered by the radar can improve disaster prevention efforts.
CWA began using the radar system to help animal scientists study migratory birds after they were approached by National Pingtung University of Science and Technology professor Yuan-Shiuan Suen (孫元勳) about whether radar can be to used to track birds, Fong said.
The nation welcomes the arrival of Chinese sparrowhawks and gray-faced buzzards, also known as the “National Day bird,” from Japan and South Korea in September and October, he said.
The weather data in 2003 captured a 50km line formed by Chinese sparrowhawks, Fong said.
In 2005, the CWA used weather radar in Kenting and Cigu to study the migration patterns of northbound gray-faced buzzards in the spring. It identified three possible routes: chances of flying through the Chiayi-Tainan plains were 48.89 percent, flying north via the west side of the Central Mountain Range at 43.29 percent and a 6.28 percent chance they would fly through the north of the Taiwan Strait.
The radar system also helped identify migratory birds that would fly over Baguashan (八卦山) in Changhua County, known among bird watchers to be an ideal place to watch eagles, he said.
“The weather radar can identify signals for birds or other creatures as they are different from those for rain or hail,” Fong said. “The dual polarization radar can accurately identify differences. If artificial intelligence is added, this might be a new opportunity for a more comprehensive understanding of the migratory birds in Taiwan.”
A NT$39 receipt for two bottles of tea at a FamilyMart was among the NT$10 million (US $312,969) special prize winners in the January-February uniform invoice lottery. FamilyMart said that two NT$10 million-winning receipts were issued at its stores, as well as two NT$2 million grand prizes and three NT$200,000 first prizes. The two NT$10 million receipts were issued at stores in Pingtung County and Yilan County’s Dongshan Township (冬山). One winner spent just NT$39 on two bottles of tea, while another spent NT$80 on water, tea and coffee, the company said. Meanwhile, 7-Eleven reported three NT$10 million winners — in New Taipei
Considering that most countries issue more than five denominations of banknotes, the central bank has decided to redesign all five denominations, the bank said as it prepares for the first major overhaul of the banknotes in more than 24 years. Central bank Governor Yang Chin-lung (楊金龍) is expected to report to the Legislative Yuan today on the bank’s operations and the redesign’s progress. The bank in a report sent to the legislature ahead of today’s meeting said it had commissioned a survey on the public’s preferences. Survey results showed that NT$100 and NT$1,000 banknotes are the most commonly used, while NT$200 and NT$2,000
The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) yesterday reported the first case of a new COVID-19 subvariant — BA.3.2 — in a 10-year-old Singaporean girl who had a fever upon arrival in Taiwan and tested positive for the disease. The girl left Taiwan on March 20 and the case did not have a direct impact on the local community, it said. The WHO added the BA.3.2 strain to its list of Variants Under Monitoring in December last year, but this was the first imported case of the COVID-19 variant in Taiwan, CDC Deputy Director-General Lin Ming-cheng (林明誠) said. The girl arrived in Taiwan on
ANNUAL EVENT: Two massive Pokemon balloons are to be set up in Daan Park, with an event zone operating from 10am to 6pm This year’s Taipei Floral Picnic is to be held at Daan Park today and tomorrow, featuring an exclusive Pokemon Go event, a themed food market, a coffee rave picnic area and stage performances, the Taipei Department of Information and Tourism said yesterday. Two massive Pokemon balloons are to be set up in the park as attractions, with an exclusive event zone operating from 10am to 6pm, it said. Participants who complete designated tasks on-site would have a chance to receive limited-edition souvenirs, it added. People could also try the newly launched game Pokemon Pokopia in the trial area, the department said. Three PokeStops are
RSS