The mercury in Miaoli County dipped to 7.5°C early today, the lowest ground temperature recorded in Taiwan so far for the day, as a continental cold air mass blanketed the country, according to the Central Weather Administration (CWA).
The low of 7.5°C was recorded in the northern county's Dahe Township, while New Taipei's Shiding and Wugu districts registered lows of 7.8 and 8.8°C, respectively, CWA data showed.
Early morning ground temperatures in the western and northeastern regions of Taiwan averaged 11-13°C today, with the mercury dropping below 10°C in some areas.
Photo: Taipei Times file photo
The CWA has forecast daytime highs of 15-17°C in northern, northeastern and eastern parts of Taiwan and 19-22°C in other regions, while temperatures on the outlying islands are expected to hover between 8 and 15°C today.
The cold weather will continue through tomorrow in northern and northeastern regions of the country, the CWA said, warning of low temperatures at night and in the early hours of the morning around the country.
As of noon, the CWA had issued an "orange" cold surge advisory, warning that temperatures may remain around 10°C in New Taipei's Shuangxi, Pinglin, Pingxi and Shiding districts.
According to the CWA forecast, the current cold air mass will gradually wane on Saturday, but low early morning temperatures can be expected nationwide over the next few days.
Meanwhile, sunny to cloudy skies will prevail today in most parts of the country, except for the Keelung north coast, mountainous areas in the Greater Taipei area, and in the east, where occasional showers are likely, the CWA said.
STAY AWAY: An official said people should avoid disturbing snakes, as most do not actively attack humans, but would react defensively if threatened Taitung County authorities yesterday urged the public to stay vigilant and avoid disturbing snakes in the wild, following five reported snakebite cases in the county so far this year. Taitung County Fire Department secretary Lin Chien-cheng (林建誠) said two of the cases were in Donghe Township (東河) and involved the Taiwan habus, one person was bit by a Chinese pit viper near the South Link Railway and the remaining two were caused by unidentified snakes. He advised residents near fields to be cautious of snakes hiding in shady indoor areas, especially when entering or leaving their homes at night. In case of a
A tropical disturbance off the southeastern coast of the Philippines might become the first typhoon of the western Pacific typhoon season, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The system lacks a visible center and how it would develop is only likely to become clear on Sunday or Monday, the CWA said, adding that it was not yet possible to forecast the potential typhoon's effect on Taiwan. The American Meteorological Society defines a tropical disturbance as a system made up of showers and thunderstorms that lasts for at least 24 hours and does not have closed wind circulation.
ENERGY RESILIENCE: Although Alaska is open for investments, Taiwan is sourcing its gas from the Middle East, and the sea routes carry risks, Ho Cheng-hui said US government officials’ high-profile reception of a Taiwanese representative at the Alaska Sustainable Energy Conference indicated the emergence of an Indo-Pacific energy resilience alliance, an academic said. Presidential Office Secretary-General Pan Men-an (潘孟安) attended the conference in Alaska on Thursday last week at the invitation of the US government. Pan visited oil and gas facilities with senior US officials, including US Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum, US Secretary of Energy Chris Wright, Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy and US Senator Daniel Sullivan. Pan attending the conference on behalf of President William Lai (賴清德) shows a significant elevation in diplomatic representation,
Credit departments of farmers’ and fishers’ associations blocked a total of more than NT$180 million (US$6.01 million) from being lost to scams last year, National Police Agency (NPA) data showed. The Agricultural Finance Agency (AFA) said last week that staff of farmers’ and fishers’ associations’ credit departments are required to implement fraud prevention measures when they serve clients at the counter. They would ask clients about personal financial management activities whenever they suspect there might be a fraud situation, and would immediately report the incident to local authorities, which would send police officers to the site to help, it said. NPA data showed
RSS