The Central Weather Bureau yesterday issued cold and heavy rain warnings, but saying that cold and wet weather might end today.
Temperatures across the nation yesterday were all well below 10 degrees Celsius. At 7.4 degrees Celsius, the lowest temperature was measured in northern Taiwan in coastal areas.
Yesterday, it became drier in the afternoon. However, forecasters said that weather would become rainy again today with the arrival of a huge rain band from southern China. Fortunately, the weather might be more comfortable than last week, as temperatures are expected to increase today. Forecasters said that the rainy weather could come to an end by Saturday.
PHOTO: WANG MIN-WEI, TAIPEI TIMES
Datun mountain park received snow on Saturday evening, attracting tourists to it and also Yangmingshan, one of the most popular scenic spots in that area. Yesterday, it also snowed on Jade Mountain, Taiwan's highest mountain, from 9:20am to 10am, leaving a 1cm-thick layer of snow. According to the bureau, early this month, the total amount of snow that has accumulated on Jade Mountain once reached 168cm. But on Saturday evening, approximately 120cm of snow covered the mountain. Yesterday, only 103cm covered the mountain as heavy rains washed away a portion of the snow.
Tea farmers in central Taiwan said the cold snap had seriously affected their crops, and predicted the harvest could be delayed for up to a month and a half. They predict that crop yields might decrease to only 30 percent of last year's yield.
The Cabinet's Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics yesterday released the latest statistics on financial loss resulting from the recent cold weather. The report suggests that between Feb. 1 and March 9, total losses in the agriculture industry were NT$1.08 billion. Taichung County is the most seriously affected county, with about NT$325 million in losses. It is followed by Nantou and Miaoli counties, whose losses were NT$266 million and NT$241 million, respectively.
Affected farmers can apply for government relief and low-interest loans, according to the Council of Agriculture. Agricultural officials said that pear, tea and strawberry crops were the most affected crops and the total area of damaged crops span 14,913 hectares.
In addition, the financial losses in the fishery sector reached NT$5.7 million, including the die-off of fish in coastal areas and fish farms.
Meanwhile, the government statistics suggest that accidents involving carbon monoxide poisoning in households between Jan. 1 and March 9 led to the deaths of 29 people.
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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