Heat alert issued for 15 cities, counties around Taiwan

Taipei, July 11 (CNA) The Central Weather Administration (CWA) has issued heat alerts for 15 cities and counties around Taiwan, and forecast afternoon thundershowers in central, northern and eastern Taiwan, as well as the mountainous areas of the country.

An "orange" heat alert, which warns of temperature highs of 36 degrees Celsius for a third consecutive day, took effect around Thursday noon for New Taipei, Tainan and Kaohsiung cities, and the counties Changhua, Yunlin, Pingtung, Hualien and Taitung, according to the CWA advisory.

A "yellow" heat warning, indicating single day highs of 36 degrees and above, was put in place for Taipei, Taichung and Chiayi cities, as well as the counties of Miaoli, Nantou, Chiayi and Yilan.

Cloudy to sunny skies can be expected around Taiwan during the day, the CWA said, adding that southeastern Taiwan could see a daytime high of over 36 degrees due to foehn winds, hot dry southwesterly winds that usually come down the Central Mountain Range into the lower regions in the summer.

The weather administration advised people to take precautionary measures to avoid sunburn and to stay hydrated when they are outdoors.

Also, brief thundershowers can be expected in central, northern, northeastern and eastern Taiwan, as well as mountainous areas in the afternoon, the CWA added.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Environment rated the air quality across Taiwan as "fair" to "good" on Thursday, pointing out that the current southwesterly wind system was dispersing pollutants in the air.