The legislature’s Transportation Committee yesterday approved the Central Weather Bureau’s (CWB) budget proposal for the next fiscal year.
And rather than questioning whether the bureau had inflated the costs of any item on the budget, lawmakers instead asked if the accuracy of weather forecasts would be compromised with such a small amount allotted to the nation’s weather authority.
The bureau has budgeted a total of NT$165 million (US$5 million) for the next fiscal year, a 0.7 percent increase compared to last year’s budget.
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Kuo Wen-chen (郭玟成) asked if the bureau would suffer because of the budget cut to the Transportation Committee, which reduced funding for some of the science projects initiated by the bureau.
Other legislators, on the other hand, complained about the accuracy of the bureau’s rainfall forecasts.
They pointed to the amount of accumulated rain when Typhoon Kalmaegi hit the nation in July, which exceeded the amount forecast by the bureau and flooded many parts of central and southern Taiwan.
DPP Legislator Yeh Yi-ching (葉宜津) said the bureau had sent the information on the amount of expected rainfall to the administrative authorities in charge of water resources when the typhoon hit the nation, but the latter did not seem to take the information seriously.
The budget review went smoothly and was wrapped up by 12:30pm.
Based on the budget proposal, the bureau will try to compile a six-month weather forecast by 2012. Currently, the bureau has provided daily, weekly, monthly as well as seasonal weather forecasts.
The seasonal weather forecast service began in 2005.
Trips for more than 100,000 international and domestic air travelers could be disrupted as China launches a military exercise around Taiwan today, Taiwan’s Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) said yesterday. The exercise could affect nearly 900 flights scheduled to enter the Taipei Flight Information Region (FIR) during the exercise window, it added. A notice issued by the Chinese Civil Aviation Administration showed there would be seven temporary zones around the Taiwan Strait which would be used for live-fire exercises, lasting from 8am to 6pm today. All aircraft are prohibited from entering during exercise, it says. Taipei FIR has 14 international air routes and
The Ministry of National Defense (MND) today released images of the military tracking China’s People's Liberation Army (PLA) movements during the latest round of Chinese drills around Taiwan. The PLA began "Justice Mission 2025" drills today, carrying out live-fire drills, simulated strikes on land and maritime targets, and exercises to blockade the nation's main ports. The exercises are to continue tomorrow, with the PLA announcing sea and air space restrictions for five zones around Taiwan for 10 hours starting from 8:30am. The ministry today released images showing a Chinese J-16 fighter jet tracked by a F-16V Block 20 jet and the
City buses in Taipei and New Taipei City, as well as the Taipei MRT, would on Saturday begin accepting QR code payments from five electronic payment providers, the Taipei Department of Transportation said yesterday. The new option would allow passengers to use the “transportation QR code” feature from EasyWallet, iPass Money, iCash Pay, Jkopay or PXPay Plus. Passengers should open their preferred electronic payment app, select the “transportation code” — not the regular payment code — unlock it, and scan the code at ticket readers or gates, General Planning Division Director-General Liu Kuo-chu (劉國著) said. People should move through the
Snow fell on Yushan (Jade Mountain, 玉山) yesterday morning as a continental cold air mass sent temperatures below freezing on Taiwan’s tallest peak, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Snowflakes were seen on Yushan’s north peak from 6:28am to 6:38am, but they did not fully cover the ground and no accumulation was recorded, the CWA said. As of 7:42am, the lowest temperature recorded across Taiwan was minus-5.5°C at Yushan’s Fengkou observatory and minus-4.7°C at the Yushan observatory, CWA data showed. On Hehuanshan (合歡山) in Nantou County, a low of 1.3°C was recorded at 6:39pm, when ice pellets fell at Songsyue Lodge (松雪樓), a
RSS