The mercury dropped to 7.3°C early this morning in Sanwan Township (三灣), Miaoli County, recording the lowest temperature in a low-lying area in Taiwan, with the outlook forecast to remain cold and rainy for the day, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said.
Emei Township (峨眉) in Hsinchu County also saw single-digit temperatures today, recording 9.9°C early in the morning, as Taiwan remained in the grip of a continental cold air mass, the CWA said.
Photo: Lo Pei-de, Taipei Times
The agency today issued an orange-level advisory for New Taipei City and Yilan County, indicating "very cold" conditions, with temperatures hovering at 10°C or lower.
It also issued a yellow-level advisory for Hsinchu, Miaoli and Kinmen counties, warning of "cold" conditions, with temperatures potentially dipping below 10°C.
According to independent meteorologist Wu Der-rong (吳德榮), the effects of the continental cold air mass are to start easing during the day, and temperatures would likely rise significantly by Wednesday.
On Friday, however, another cold air mass is expected to move in and remain until Sunday, bringing lower temperatures again, Wu said.
Meanwhile, the CWA has forecast brief showers on the windward side of Keelung and other northeast coastal areas, the greater Taipei area and Yilan today.
Occasional showers are also expected in outlying Penghu County during the day, the CWA said.
The Ministry of Environment said the air quality around Taiwan would be mostly "fair" to "good."
An "orange" air quality alert has been issued for Kaohsiung and Pingtung County in southern Taiwan, however, indicating unhealthy air quality for sensitive groups such as the elderly, children and people with cardiac or respiratory conditions.
A strong continental cold air mass and abundant moisture bringing snow to mountains 3,000m and higher over the past few days are a reminder that more than 60 years ago Taiwan had an outdoor ski resort that gradually disappeared in part due to climate change. On Oct. 24, 2021, the National Development Council posted a series of photographs on Facebook recounting the days when Taiwan had a ski resort on Hehuanshan (合歡山) in Nantou County. More than 60 years ago, when developing a branch of the Central Cross-Island Highway, the government discovered that Hehuanshan, with an elevation of more than 3,100m,
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