People residing in areas south of Hsinchu County have a better chance of seeing the moon as the nation observes the Mid-
Autumn Festival today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday.
The conditions for moon watching, a tradition observed by many during the festival, would vary by region, the agency said.
Photo courtesy of the Central Weather Administration
Cloudy skies are forecast in the eastern region, Lienchiang County (Matsu), Keelung, Taipei, Taoyuan and New Taipei City, while clear skies are forecast in regions south of Hsinchu County, it said.
Specifically, Penghu and Kinmen counties, as well as regions south of Hsinchu County, have better weather for moon watching with sunny to cloudy skies, it said.
Matsu and regions north of Taoyuan are forecast to have cloudy skies and occasional rainfall, but residents might still be able to catch glimpses of the moon, it said.
Cloudy and rainy skies are forecast in the north coast, Keelung, as well as Yilan, Hualien and Taitung counties, the agency said, adding that residents would need to wait patiently for the moon to appear behind the clouds.
People can also watch the Saturn-moon conjunction today, or catch the super moon tomorrow, it said.
As for rainfall, areas in Yilan and Hualien might experience short bursts of heavy rain, while people residing in mountainous areas should be alert to landslides and rockfalls, it said.
Temperatures today are forecast to be relatively high on the west coast due to the east wind subsiding, especially in Taoyuan and Hsinchu County, the agency said, adding that highs could exceed 37°C.
Strong winds might occur in Taipei and New Taipei City, while winds in coastal areas north of Miaoli County, the Hengchun Peninsula, Orchid Island (蘭嶼, Lanyu), Green Island and Kinmen could reach 8 to 9 on the Beaufort scale, the agency said.
AIR SUPPORT: The Ministry of National Defense thanked the US for the delivery, adding that it was an indicator of the White House’s commitment to the Taiwan Relations Act Deputy Minister of National Defense Po Horng-huei (柏鴻輝) and Representative to the US Alexander Yui on Friday attended a delivery ceremony for the first of Taiwan’s long-awaited 66 F-16C/D Block 70 jets at a Lockheed Martin Corp factory in Greenville, South Carolina. “We are so proud to be the global home of the F-16 and to support Taiwan’s air defense capabilities,” US Representative William Timmons wrote on X, alongside a photograph of Taiwanese and US officials at the event. The F-16C/D Block 70 jets Taiwan ordered have the same capabilities as aircraft that had been upgraded to F-16Vs. The batch of Lockheed Martin
GRIDLOCK: The National Fire Agency’s Special Search and Rescue team is on standby to travel to the countries to help out with the rescue effort A powerful earthquake rocked Myanmar and neighboring Thailand yesterday, killing at least three people in Bangkok and burying dozens when a high-rise building under construction collapsed. Footage shared on social media from Myanmar’s second-largest city showed widespread destruction, raising fears that many were trapped under the rubble or killed. The magnitude 7.7 earthquake, with an epicenter near Mandalay in Myanmar, struck at midday and was followed by a strong magnitude 6.4 aftershock. The extent of death, injury and destruction — especially in Myanmar, which is embroiled in a civil war and where information is tightly controlled at the best of times —
Taiwan was ranked the fourth-safest country in the world with a score of 82.9, trailing only Andorra, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar in Numbeo’s Safety Index by Country report. Taiwan’s score improved by 0.1 points compared with last year’s mid-year report, which had Taiwan fourth with a score of 82.8. However, both scores were lower than in last year’s first review, when Taiwan scored 83.3, and are a long way from when Taiwan was named the second-safest country in the world in 2021, scoring 84.8. Taiwan ranked higher than Singapore in ninth with a score of 77.4 and Japan in 10th with
China's military today said it began joint army, navy and rocket force exercises around Taiwan to "serve as a stern warning and powerful deterrent against Taiwanese independence," calling President William Lai (賴清德) a "parasite." The exercises come after Lai called Beijing a "foreign hostile force" last month. More than 10 Chinese military ships approached close to Taiwan's 24 nautical mile (44.4km) contiguous zone this morning and Taiwan sent its own warships to respond, two senior Taiwanese officials said. Taiwan has not yet detected any live fire by the Chinese military so far, one of the officials said. The drills took place after US Secretary