A continental cold front would continue to affect the weather until tomorrow, with yesterday’s nighttime temperatures dropping to below 10°C in northern and northeastern Taiwan, as well as Kinmen County, the Central Weather Bureau said.
North of Tainan and in northeastern Taiwan, the mercury fell to 13°C to 15°C early yesterday morning, with even deeper temperatures in coastal areas and low-lying areas near mountains, the bureau said.
Elsewhere, temperatures remained above 16°C to 17°C, it added.
Photo: CNA
The lowest temperature in the nation’s low-lying areas was 9.5°C in New Taipei City’s Linkou District (林口) at 9am, it said.
Snow fell on Hehuanshan (合歡山) in Nantou County at 8:50am yesterday, albeit just for five minutes, the bureau said.
From tomorrow to Wednesday, the cold front would weaken and temperatures across Taiwan would rise before another cold spell is expected from Saturday, former CWB Weather Forecast Center director Daniel Wu (吳德榮) said.
Photo: Chen Hsien-yi, Taipei Times
Meanwhile, farmers and naturalists on Saturday reported that winter flowers in Taichung and Taitung County began blooming, calling it an unseasonal phenomenon due to the early arrival of cold and wet weather.
Fushoushan Farm deputy director Wang Jen-chu (王仁助) said that about 500 plum trees had blossomed at the farm, at an altitude of 2,200m to 2,600m in Taichung’s Heping District (和平), attributing it to the earlier-than-expected arrival of low temperatures.
With about 20 percent of the farm’s trees in bloom, part of the landscape is colored in red, pink, white, yellow and green, he said.
Wuling Farm deputy director Hu Fa-tao (胡發韜) said that 50 percent of Wuling’s wintersweet plantations have blossomed, followed by plum trees soon after.
The blossoms enshroud the farm, which is in the same district, in fragrant smell, Hu said, inviting people to visit and walk around the blooming vegetation.
Aliman Madiklan, a nature expert from Taitung, and local ecological farmer He Jie-chen (何介臣) also reported the blooming of winter flora.
Aliman, who is a curator at a local museum focused on forest culture, said that plum trees were in bloom in Yanping Township’s (延平) Sazasa Community (鸞山部落), where he lives.
About 50 percent of the plum trees on his farm have blossomed, He said, adding that the best time to visit the orchards in full bloom would be in the first half of next month.
Hu said that crops have failed in the past three years, adding that this year would hopefully reverse the trend.
Climate change has affected the winter flora across the nation. In 2019, a record-low 10 percent of Taiwan’s winter flowers blossomed.
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