The nation must brace for the possibility of heavy precipitation this spring because of the combined influence of the reduced El Nino effect and high air pressure lingering in the Philippines, the Central Weather Bureau said yesterday.
The bureau gave its rainfall and temperature forecasts for this month through May yesterday as the nation marked the start of spring.
Cheng Ming-dean (鄭明典), director of the bureau's forecast center, said the El Nino effect culminated at the end of December and began gradually easing by the middle of January.
At the moment, seawater near the equator and the East Pacific Ocean remains warm, an indicator of the lingering El Nino effect, he said. Though its effect will not be as forceful, El Nino will continue to influence the country through May.
Cheng said the bureau forecast that average temperatures during these three months would very likely be close to or exceeding the normal range. Rainfall, on the other hand, was forecast to be close to normal.
“The question is not the amount of rainfall that we can expect this year,” Cheng said. “What we are about to see is strong convective precipitation that falls in certain areas within a short period of time, which makes this year more alarming than any other year over the past decade.”
Cheng said the nation must prepare for the potential damage brought by such precipitation, particularly as the soil in mountainous areas is still loose and soft after the mudflows caused by Typhoon Morakot last August.
The bureau's analysis shows that the situation this year is very similar to that in 2005, which was also an El Nino year.
Bureau records show that accumulated rainfall in 2005 was the highest in the last 10 years, with about 200 days of rain exceeding standards set for heavy rain. Heavy rainfall was also experienced between February and June in 2005.
Cheng said the bureau had a confidence rating of 50 percent in its forecast for spring rain.
He said Taiwan generally has more rainfall in the spring of an El Nino year once the high air pressure in the Philippines emerges. He added that the results of the Asia Pacific Climate Center's computer simulated tests also point to the nation experiencing more rain this spring.
“The bureau has to take the risk of being wrong and warned the nation the in advance,” he said.
‘TAIWAN-FRIENDLY’: The last time the Web site fact sheet removed the lines on the US not supporting Taiwanese independence was during the Biden administration in 2022 The US Department of State has removed a statement on its Web site that it does not support Taiwanese independence, among changes that the Taiwanese government praised yesterday as supporting Taiwan. The Taiwan-US relations fact sheet, produced by the department’s Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs, previously stated that the US opposes “any unilateral changes to the status quo from either side; we do not support Taiwan independence; and we expect cross-strait differences to be resolved by peaceful means.” In the updated version published on Thursday, the line stating that the US does not support Taiwanese independence had been removed. The updated
‘CORRECT IDENTIFICATION’: Beginning in May, Taiwanese married to Japanese can register their home country as Taiwan in their spouse’s family record, ‘Nikkei Asia’ said The government yesterday thanked Japan for revising rules that would allow Taiwanese nationals married to Japanese citizens to list their home country as “Taiwan” in the official family record database. At present, Taiwanese have to select “China.” Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said the new rule, set to be implemented in May, would now “correctly” identify Taiwanese in Japan and help protect their rights, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement. The statement was released after Nikkei Asia reported the new policy earlier yesterday. The name and nationality of a non-Japanese person marrying a Japanese national is added to the
AT RISK: The council reiterated that people should seriously consider the necessity of visiting China, after Beijing passed 22 guidelines to punish ‘die-hard’ separatists The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) has since Jan. 1 last year received 65 petitions regarding Taiwanese who were interrogated or detained in China, MAC Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) said yesterday. Fifty-two either went missing or had their personal freedoms restricted, with some put in criminal detention, while 13 were interrogated and temporarily detained, he said in a radio interview. On June 21 last year, China announced 22 guidelines to punish “die-hard Taiwanese independence separatists,” allowing Chinese courts to try people in absentia. The guidelines are uncivilized and inhumane, allowing Beijing to seize assets and issue the death penalty, with no regard for potential
‘UNITED FRONT’ FRONTS: Barring contact with Huaqiao and Jinan universities is needed to stop China targeting Taiwanese students, the education minister said Taiwan has blacklisted two Chinese universities from conducting academic exchange programs in the nation after reports that the institutes are arms of Beijing’s United Front Work Department, Minister of Education Cheng Ying-yao (鄭英耀) said in an exclusive interview with the Chinese-language Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister paper) published yesterday. China’s Huaqiao University in Xiamen and Quanzhou, as well as Jinan University in Guangzhou, which have 600 and 1,500 Taiwanese on their rolls respectively, are under direct control of the Chinese government’s political warfare branch, Cheng said, citing reports by national security officials. A comprehensive ban on Taiwanese institutions collaborating or
RSS