Cold warnings issued as chilly temperatures set to drop further

Taipei, Dec. 18 (CNA) Taiwan's weather agency issued "cold surge" temperature warnings for northern parts of Taiwan on Wednesday morning as it expects wintry conditions to intensify over the coming days.

The Central Weather Administration (CWA) issued an orange-level advisory -- indicating "very cold" conditions with temperatures remaining around or below 10 degrees Celsius -- for various districts in the northern cities of Taipei, New Taipei and Keelung.

It also issued a yellow-level advisory -- indicating "cold" conditions with minimum temperatures potentially dropping below 10 degrees -- for northern cities and counties including areas in New Taipei, Keelung, Taoyuan, Hsinchu, Miaoli and Kinmen.

Both orange and yellow-level warnings are in effect from late Wednesday afternoon through Thursday night, according to the CWA's website.

On Thursday, overcast and rainy skies are forecast to accompany lower temperatures ranging from 12-15 degrees in the Greater Taipei-Keelung metropolitan area, though sunnier weather will see wider ranges of 12-23 degrees in western, central and southern Taiwan.

Temperatures in southern, central and western areas may rise slightly on Friday, though the mercury will likely drop again on Saturday as the cold air mass currently affecting Taiwan moves southward, according to a CWA forecast made Wednesday morning.

(By James Thompson)

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