Taiwan’s average temperature last year reached 24.6°C, 0.7°C above the historical norm, making it the hottest year on record, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said.
The agency attributed the high temperature to global warming and El Nino.
The CWA’s Annual Climate Report 2024, published on Tuesday last week, showed that all 22 major weather stations across the nation recorded temperatures above the 30-year climate average (based on 1991-2020).
Photo: Taipei Times
Each station ranked among the top 10 hottest years recorded at its respective location. Notably, Hsinchu County, Taichung, Nantou County’s Sun Moon Lake, Tainan, and Taitung County’s Chenggong (成功) and Dawu (大武) townships set temperature records.
The number of hot days — defined as days with highs of more than 35°C — also surged. Taipei recorded 63 hot days, the most in the country and nearly 20 more than the 30-year average. Most other stations, except Keelung, Pengjia Islet (彭佳嶼) off Keelung, Hualien County and Pingtung County’s Hengchun Peninsula (恆春半島), also recorded numbers close to or above the average.
The number of hot days in Taiwan has steadily risen since the mid-1970s, while cold days — those with temperatures below 10°C in lowland areas — have declined since the 1960s, highlighting a clear warming trend, the report showed.
Although Taiwan’s total annual rainfall last year was close to the 30-year average, the nation only had 127 rainy days — one of the fewest on record, reflecting a long-term shift toward less frequent, but more intense, precipitation, it said.
Global warming and El Nino have intensified extreme weather events, it said.
Winter last year was warmer and drier than usual due to weaker monsoons, while summer was dominated by strong subtropical high-pressure systems that brought widespread heat and dryness to East Asia.
LOOKING NORTH: The base would enhance the military’s awareness of activities in the Bashi Channel, which China Coast Guard ships have been frequenting, an expert said The Philippine Navy on Thursday last week inaugurated a forward operating base in the country’s northern most province of Batanes, which at 185km from Taiwan would be strategically important in a military conflict in the Taiwan Strait. The Philippine Daily Inquirer quoted Northern Luzon Command Commander Lieutenant General Fernyl Buca as saying that the base in Mahatao would bolster the country’s northern defenses and response capabilities. The base is also a response to the “irregular presence this month of armed” of China Coast Guard vessels frequenting the Bashi Channel in the Luzon Strait just south of Taiwan, the paper reported, citing a
A total lunar eclipse, an astronomical event often referred to as a “blood moon,” would be visible to sky watchers in Taiwan starting just before midnight on Sunday night, the Taipei Astronomical Museum said. The phenomenon is also called “blood moon” due to the reddish-orange hue it takes on as the Earth passes directly between the sun and the moon, completely blocking direct sunlight from reaching the lunar surface. The only light is refracted by the Earth’s atmosphere, and its red wavelengths are bent toward the moon, illuminating it in a dramatic crimson light. Describing the event as the most important astronomical phenomenon
Three batches of banana sauce imported from the Philippines were intercepted at the border after they were found to contain the banned industrial dye Orange G, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said yesterday. From today through Sept. 2 next year, all seasoning sauces from the Philippines are to be subject to the FDA’s strictest border inspection, meaning 100 percent testing for illegal dyes before entry is allowed, it said in a statement. Orange G is an industrial coloring agent that is not permitted for food use in Taiwan or internationally, said Cheng Wei-chih (鄭維智), head of the FDA’s Northern Center for
UNDER PRESSURE: The report cited numerous events that have happened this year to show increased coercion from China, such as military drills and legal threats The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) aims to reinforce its “one China” principle and the idea that Taiwan belongs to the People’s Republic of China by hosting celebratory events this year for the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II, the “retrocession” of Taiwan and the establishment of the UN, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said in its latest report to the Legislative Yuan. Taking advantage of the significant anniversaries, Chinese officials are attempting to assert China’s sovereignty over Taiwan through interviews with international news media and cross-strait exchange events, the report said. Beijing intends to reinforce its “one China” principle
RSS