Spring rain brought by a cold front that arrived on Monday night, aided by cloud-seeding operations, could add more than 16.6 million tonnes of rainwater to the reservoirs in northern and central Taiwan, the Water Resources Agency said yesterday.
The front’s arrival prompted it to begin cloud-seeding operations at 9:40pm on Monday — over Shihmen Reservoir (石門水庫) in Taoyuan, Second Baoshan Reservoir (寶二水庫) in Hsinchu County, Yongheshan Reservoir (永和山水庫), Minde Reservoir (明德水庫) and Liyutan Reservoir (鯉魚潭水庫) in Miaoli County — and again at 1:40am yesterday, the agency said.
More cloud-seeding operations might be launched if the weather permits, it added.
Photo: Lee Jung-ping, Taipei Times
Although Taiwan is in its traditional dry season, an increase in demand for water for farm irrigation and disease prevention measures has exacerbated water shortages.
Between 8pm on Monday and 8am yesterday, reservoirs in the nation’s north and center collected 3.27 million tonnes of rainwater, the agency said.
The rain on Monday night was typical spring rain because it mainly fell on the northwest, as rain brought by the northeast monsoon mainly affects the northeast, Central Weather Bureau Deputy Director-General Cheng Ming-dean (鄭明典) posted on Facebook.
The rain could expand to southern Taiwan, but with reduced intensity before more cold air arrives, he said.
Starting today, the nation would be under the influence of the northeast monsoon, the bureau said.
Temporary showers are forecast for the east coast as well as mountainous areas in the north, it said.
Tomorrow’s temperatures are to rebound as the northeast monsoon weakens and rain eases, the bureau said.
Cloudy skies are forecast for most of the nation, except for the east coast and mountainous areas in the north, where scattered showers are expected, it said.
Temperatures in the north and northeast of the nation are expected to drop again on Friday and Saturday with the rise of the northeast monsoon and rains from southern China, which would bring showers in the nation’s north and center, the east coast and mountainous areas in the south, it said.
The influence of the northeast monsoon would continue through Monday next week, although temporary showers are forecasted for the north as well as Hualien and Taitung counties, while the rest of the nation would see cloudy to sunny skies, the bureau said.
Taiwanese could risk being extradited to China when traveling in countries with close ties to Beijing, Taiwan Association of University Professors deputy chairman Chen Li-fu (陳俐甫) said on Friday. Chen’s comments came after China on Friday last week announced new judicial guidelines targeting Taiwanese independence advocates. Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos and Djibouti are among the countries where Taiwanese could risk being extradited to China, he said. The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) on Thursday elevated the travel alert for China, Hong Kong and Macau to “orange” after Beijing announced its guidelines to “severely punish Taiwanese independence diehards for splitting the country and inciting secession.” Extradition treaties
Taiwan and Thailand have signed an agreement to promote and protect bilateral investment and trade, the Executive Yuan’s Office of Trade Negotiations (OTN) said on Friday. The agreement on “Promotion and Protection of Investments” was signed by Representative to Thailand Chang Chun-fu (張俊福) and Thailand Trade and Economic Office in Taipei executive director Narong Boonsatheanwong on Thursday, the OTN said in a news release. Thailand has become the fifth trading partner to sign an investment agreement with Taiwan since 2016, following earlier agreements with the Philippines, India, Vietnam and Canada, the OTN said. The deal marks a significant milestone in the development of
The entire Alishan Forest Railway line is to reopen for the first time in 15 years on Saturday, with tickets to go on sale at 2pm today. The historic railway from Chiayi to Alishan (阿里山) is finally set to reopen after the completion of the final No. 42 tunnel, Alishan Forest Railway and Cultural Heritage Office Deputy Director-General Chou Heng-kai (周恆凱) said. It is to run on a new timetable, with four trains daily, he said. The 9am train is to depart from Chiayi Railway Station bound for Shizilu Station (十字路), while the 10am train departing from Chiayi is to go all the
CROSS-BORDER CRIME: The suspects cannot be charged with cybercrime in Indonesia as their targets were in Malaysia, an Indonesian immigration director said Indonesian immigration authorities have detained 103 Taiwanese after a raid at a villa on Bali, officials said yesterday. They were accused of misusing their visas and residence permits, and are suspected of possible cybercrimes, Safar Muhammad Godam, director of immigration supervision and enforcement at the Indonesian Ministry of Law and Human Rights told reporters at a news conference. “The 103 foreign nationals stayed at the villa and conducted suspicious activities, which we suspect are activities related to cybercrime activities,” he said, presenting laptops and routers at the news conference. Godam said Indonesian authorities cannot charge them with conducting cybercrime. “During the inspection, we