The nation could still face another typhoon this fall due to El Nino, which is poised to be the strongest one since 1997, the Central Weather Bureau said yesterday.
The bureau yesterday gave its long-range forecast for this month to November.
Weather Forecast Center Director Cheng Ming-dean (鄭明典) said the strength of this year’s El Nino is almost comparable to the level of the super El Nino that lasted from 1997 to 1998, and it still has room to gain in strength.
El Nino refers to atmospheric changes caused by the higher ocean temperature in the equatorial region between the Central and East Pacific Ocean.
El Nino is forecast to continue affecting the nation’s weather this fall and reach its peak between the end of this year and the beginning of next year, Cheng said.
The bureau’s data indicate that an average of 1.2 typhoons are likely to affect Taiwan after this month, but the likelihood that one would directly hit the nation is very low, he said.
“We forecast approximately one typhoon could become a direct threat to Taiwan in the fall,” he said. “Because of a strong El Nino effect, the high air pressure becomes weaker, which makes it more likely for typhoons to move north before reaching Taiwan.”
El Nino often leads to less rainfall than normal in the South China Sea, the Philippines and the Indonesian archipelago, which means Taiwan is likely to see less rainfall in the autumn than normal, he said.
“The nation is sandwiched between a dry zone and a wet zone. The rainfall could be less or more than normal depending on which one of the systems prevails. We forecast that it is more possible that the nation would be influenced by the weather system in the dry zone,” he said, adding that temperatures are also likely to be warmer.
Taipei experienced a relatively cooler August this year, with only nine days where temperatures exceeded 35?C, he said.
There were 20 days in August last year where the temperature reached 35?C or above.
Keelung saw 676mm of rain last month, a new record since the bureau’s observation station in the city was established in 1946, while Penghu had a total of 794mm, its second-highest since 1898.
Aside from the rain brought by Typhoon Soudelor, other rainfall contributed to last month’s cooler weather, including a low air pressure system formed through the convergence of the southwest and north winds, southwest jet stream and stationery front, Cheng said.
Civil society groups yesterday protested outside the Legislative Yuan, decrying Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) efforts to pass three major bills that they said would seriously harm Taiwan’s democracy, and called to oust KMT caucus whip Fu Kun-chi (傅?萁). It was the second night of the three-day “Bluebird wintertime action” protests in Taipei, with organizers announcing that 8,000 people attended. Organized by Taiwan Citizen Front, the Economic Democracy Union (EDU) and a coalition of civil groups, about 6,000 people began a demonstration in front of KMT party headquarters in Taipei on Wednesday, organizers said. For the third day, the organizers asked people to assemble
Taipei is participating in Osaka’s Festival of Lights this year, with a 3m-tall bubble tea light installation symbolizing Taiwan’s bubble tea culture. The installation is designed as a bubble tea cup and features illustrations of Taipei’s iconic landmarks, such as Taipei 101, the Red House and North Gate, as well as soup dumplings and the matchmaking deity the Old Man Under the Moon (月下老人), affectionately known as Yue Lao (月老). Taipei and Osaka have collaborated closely on tourism and culture since Taipei first participated in the festival in 2018, the Taipei City Department of Information and Tourism said. In February, Osaka represented
POOR IMPLEMENTATION: Teachers welcomed the suspension, saying that the scheme disrupted school schedules, quality of learning and the milk market A policy to offer free milk to all school-age children nationwide is to be suspended next year due to multiple problems arising from implementation of the policy, the Executive Yuan announced yesterday. The policy was designed to increase the calcium intake of school-age children in Taiwan by drinking milk, as more than 80 percent drink less than 240ml per day. The recommended amount is 480ml. It was also implemented to help Taiwanese dairy farmers counter competition from fresh milk produced in New Zealand, which is to be imported to Taiwan tariff-free next year when the Agreement Between New Zealand and
Taiwanese professional baseball should update sports stadiums and boost engagement to enhance fans’ experience, Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL) commissioner Tsai Chi-chang (蔡其昌) told the Liberty Times (sister paper of the Taipei Times) in an interview on Friday. The league has urged Farglory Group and the Taipei City Government to improve the Taipei Dome’s outdated equipment, including relatively rudimentary television and sound systems, and poor technology, he said. The Tokyo Dome has markedly better television and sound systems, despite being 30 years old, because its managers continually upgraded its equipment, Tsai said. In contrast, the Taipei Dome lacked even a room for referees
RSS