The air quality in central and southern Taiwan is forecast to remain poor today due to dust from a sandstorm in China being carried on northwesterly winds, the Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) said yesterday.
A sandstorm blowing from the eastern Chinese coastal provinces of Zhejiang and Fujian has affected the air quality across much of Taiwan, including in outlying Lienchiang and Penghu counties, the EPA said in a statement.
Air quality in Changhua County has deteriorated, with the concentration of particulate matter measuring 10 micrometers of less (PM10) rising to 240 micrograms per cubic meter, the EPA said, citing data from Thursday afternoon.
Photo: CNA
The effects of the sandstorm are expected to continue lowering central Taiwan’s air quality, the EPA said, with areas in the central and southern regions under a “red” alert and most other regions under an “orange” alert.
The agency on Thursday said it had taken some measures to avoid an escalation of the problem.
These include a reduction in coal-generated energy on Wednesday and Thursday by a directive to state-run Taiwan Power Co (Taipower) and private thermal power plants, the EPA said.
Easterly to northeasterly winds were recorded across Taiwan yesterday morning, limiting dispersal of the pollutants on the western half of the country, as it is on the downwind side, the agency said.
A weather front during the day today could bring rain and improved air quality to central and northern Taiwan, although downwind areas in central and southern Taiwan would not see much dispersal, it said.
Strengthening northeasterly winds in the evening could bring more pollutants, worsening air quality in western Taiwan and on outlying islands, it added.
Winds could turn easterly to southeasterly from tomorrow to Tuesday, continuing poor diffusion and leading to possibly more “red” air quality alerts in the center and south, the EPA said, adding that people should continue to monitor the forecast as it develops.
Suspended particulate concentration in Zhejiang and Fujian was 250 to 400 micrograms per cubic meter, while the concentration of fine particulate matter was 60 to 80 micrograms per cubic meter, the EPA said.
Non-hazardous levels of PM10 are defined by the EPA as 100 micrograms per cubic meter or lower.
Additional reporting by Kayleigh Madjar
A relatively large earthquake may strike within the next two weeks, following a magnitude 5.2 temblor that shook Taitung County this morning, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. An earthquake struck at 8:18am today 10.2km west of Taitung County Hall in Taitung City at a relatively shallow depth of 6.5km, CWA data showed. The largest intensity of 4 was felt in Taitung and Pingtung counties, which received an alert notice, while areas north of Taichung did not feel any shaking, the CWA said. The earthquake was the result of the collision between the Philippine Plate and the Eurasian Plate, the agency said, adding
Snow fell in the mountainous areas of northern, central and eastern Taiwan in the early hours of yesterday, as cold air currents moved south. In the northern municipality of Taoyuan, snow started falling at about 6am in Fusing District (復興), district head Su Tso-hsi (蘇佐璽) said. By 10am, Lalashan National Forest Recreation Area, as well as Hualing (華陵), Sanguang (三光) and Gaoyi (高義) boroughs had seen snowfall, Su said. In central Taiwan, Shei-Pa National Park in Miaoli County and Hehuanshan National Forest Recreation Area in Nantou County saw snowfall of 5cm and 6cm respectively, by 10am, staff at the parks said. It began snowing
Global bodies should stop excluding Taiwan for political reasons, President William Lai (賴清德) told Pope Francis in a letter, adding that he agrees war has no winners. The Vatican is one of only 12 countries to retain formal diplomatic ties with Taiwan, and Taipei has watched with concern efforts by Beijing and the Holy See to improve ties. In October, the Vatican and China extended an accord on the appointment of Catholic bishops in China for four years, pointing to a new level of trust between the two parties. Lai, writing to the pope in response to the pontiff’s message on Jan. 1’s
HOLIDAY EXERCISE: National forest recreation areas from north to south offer travelers a wide choice of sights to connect with nature and enjoy its benefits Hiking is a good way to improve one’s health, the Forestry and Nature Conservation Agency said, as it released a list of national forest recreation areas that travelers can visit during the Lunar New Year holiday. Taking a green shower of phytoncides in the woods could boost one’s immunity system and metabolism, agency Director-General Lin Hwa-ching (林華慶) cited a Japanese study as saying. For people visiting northern Taiwan, Lin recommended the Dongyanshan National Forest Recreation Area in Taoyuan’s Fusing District (復興). Once an important plantation in the north, Dongyanshan (東眼山) has a number of historic monuments, he said. The area is broadly covered by
RSS