Temperatures exceed 38°C in southern Taiwan

Heat advisories were in effect for nine administrative regions yesterday afternoon as warm southwesterly winds pushed temperatures above 38°C in parts of southern Taiwan, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said.

As of 3:30pm yesterday, Tainan’s Yujing District (玉井) had recorded the day’s highest temperature of 39.7°C, though the measurement will not be included in Taiwan’s official heat records since Yujing is an automatic rather than manually operated weather station, the CWA said.

Highs recorded in other areas were 38.7°C in Kaohsiung’s Neimen District (內門), 38.2°C in Chiayi City and 38.1°C in Pingtung’s Sandimen Township (三地門), CWA data showed.

The spell of scorching weather is expected to continue through the first half of the day today, the CWA said.

However, from this afternoon, an incoming weather front is expected to bring rain and slightly cooler temperatures to the north, before moving into the south tomorrow.

A second weather system is forecast to arrive on Thursday, bringing additional rain to much of the country through Saturday, the CWA said.

In other news, a quake measuring 5.6 on the Richter scale struck off the coast of Hualien County at 10:40am yesterday, the agency said.

There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries.

The epicenter of the temblor was in the Pacific Ocean, 55.9km southeast of Hualien County Hall, at a depth of 30km, the CWA said.

The earthquake’s intensity, which gauges the actual effect of a seismic event, was highest in Hualien, Taitung and parts of Nantou and Changhua counties, where it measured a 4 on Taiwan’s 7-tier intensity scale.

Level 3 shaking was also felt in parts of Taichung, Yunlin, Yilan and Chiayi counties, while intensity levels of 2 and 1 were recorded in New Taipei City and Taipei respectively, the CWA said.

The temblor was followed by a smaller magnitude 4.6 earthquake, which struck in waters 23.8km to the north-northeast of Hualien County Hall at 11:07am, it said.