Three northern schools to cancel classes, work due to cold snap

Taipei, Jan. 22 (CNA) Three schools in the northern part of Taiwan will be canceling classes or shutting down due to a cold snap that has sent temperatures in the region below 10 degrees Celsius in low-lying areas and close to zero in the mountains.

Taipei Hutian Experimental Elementary School, which is located by Bamboo Lake on Yangmingshan in northern Taipei, announced that it will suspend work for faculty and staff on Tuesday due to safety concerns from extremely cold weather.

Classes did not have to be canceled because the school's students are on their winter break. The temperature at Bamboo Lake is forecast to fall to as low as 3 degrees Celsius on Tuesday, and there will be a 70 percent chance of precipitation.

Meanwhile, two kindergartens in Taoyuan announced that classes have been suspended for children for two days due to the weather.

As kindergartens and preschools in Taiwan do not have winter breaks, Taoyuan's Department of Education said classes on Tuesday and Wednesday have been canceled at kindergartens in the metropolitan area's San Kuang and Gao Yi elementary schools.

The department said the two schools are located in relatively high altitude locations in the city's mountainous Fuxing District, where most schools will experience low temperatures.

Though other schools in the district will remain open for work during the two cold days, they are equipped with heaters to held staff deal with the cold.

According to the Central Weather Administration, temperatures were expected to continuing falling Monday night in northern, central and northeastern Taiwan, with rain expected due to the effects of a moist weather system arriving from southeastern China.

As of Monday night at 10 p.m., the lowest temperature reported in a low-lying area in Taiwan was 7.2 degrees along Freeway No. 1 in Hsinchu County at 9:48 p.m. and in Yangmei District in Taoyuan at 9:50 p.m.

In higher altitude areas, the temperature hit 1.2 degrees at a weather station in Taoyuan's Fuxing District at 9:33 p.m. and zero on Taipingshan in Yilan County at 8:50 p.m.