Rain to bring slightly cooler weather in northern Taiwan

Taipei, March 30 (CNA) With moisture in the air increasing on the back of thicker cloud cover, precipitation is expected to send temperatures slightly lower in northern Taiwan on Saturday, according to the Central Weather Administration (CWA).

The CWA said daytime temperatures in the north are forecast to range between 26 and 28 degrees Celsius Saturday, down one to two degrees from a day earlier, while a southern wind system continues to keep weather warmer in central and southern Taiwan with temperature highs forecast to hit 30-32 degrees.

Brief showers are expected in northern Taiwan Saturday morning with thundershowers possible in mountainous areas in the afternoon, the CWA said.

In central Taiwan, as active air convection effects are expected to bring in brief heavy precipitation Saturday morning, the CWA has issued a heavy rain alert for Nantou County, indicating there is expected to be 80 mm of accumulated rainfall in a day or 40 mm in an hour.

Elsewhere in Taiwan, cloudy to sunny skies are expected to prevail, the CWA said.

At night, mercury is expected to fall to 20-24 degrees around Taiwan, according to the CWA.

Wu Der-rong (吳德榮), an adjunct associate professor of atmospheric sciences at National Central University, said a weather front is expected to approach Taiwan on Sunday, urging the public to keep alert over possible strong winds and brief downpours.

Wu said from April 2-4, stable summer-like conditions are possible before another weather front descends on the night of April 4 to cool northern Taiwan.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Environment said air quality was rated "good" to "fair" in most of Taiwan on Saturday, while the air quality index was flashing an "orange" warning in parts of areas in the country, including the outlying Kinmen and Matsu islands, indicating unhealthy pollution levels for sensitive groups.