(CNA file photo)

Taipei, March 21 (CNA) Temperatures around Taiwan are expected to fall beginning March 25 due to the arrival of a cold air mass from China, with lows in northern and northeastern Taiwan expected to dip to 12 degrees Celsius, the Central Weather Bureau (CWB) said Tuesday.

Temperatures in Taiwan, especially in the north and northeast, are forecast to dip gradually between March 25 and 27 as the cold air mass strengthens, falling to their lowest points on March 27, the CWB said.

On that day, lows could hit 12 degrees in northern and northeastern Taiwan, 15 degrees in central Taiwan, and 17 degrees in southern, eastern and southeastern Taiwan, according to bureau forecasts.

The northern half of Taiwan could also see brief showers from March 25 to 27 as rain and clouds from southern China move east, the bureau said.

Meanwhile, northern and northeastern Taiwan should expect cool weather and some rain from March 21 to 24 due to the strengthening of seasonal northeasterly winds, which are expected to ease on March 24.

Over those four days, temperatures are forecast to hover between 15 and 24 degrees in the north, 15 and 22 degrees in the northeast, 18 and 25 degrees in the east, 19 and 26 degrees in the southeast, 17 and 28 degrees in central Taiwan, and 20 and 30 degrees in the south, according to bureau data.

The bureau said the arrival of a cold air mass in late March is not an abnormal weather pattern. The latest cold spell on record in Taiwan appeared in May in 1951, according to the bureau.

(By Chen Wei-ting and Christie Chen)
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