Cold warnings issued as temperatures in northern Taiwan could drop below 10°C

Taipei, Dec. 21 (CNA) The Central Weather Administration (CWA) on Saturday issued cold surge advisories, warning that temperatures could drop below 10 degrees Celsius in some areas of northern and northeastern Taiwan starting Saturday afternoon.

An orange-level advisory -- indicating "very cold" conditions with temperatures remaining around or below 10 degrees Celsius -- has been issued for various districts in New Taipei, including Shiding and Pingxi.

It also issued a yellow-level advisory -- indicating "cold" conditions with minimum temperatures potentially dropping below 10 degrees -- for the counties of Hsinchu, Miaoli and Yilan.

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

Meanwhile, cloudy skies with chances of rain can be expected in some areas across northern Taiwan, Yilan and Hualien counties in the northeast and east during the day on Saturday.

Temperature-wise, daytime highs of 16-18 degrees are forecast in the north and 21-25 degrees elsewhere.

With the effect of a cold air mass moving southward, Taiwan will get colder as the day progresses, the CWA indicated.

Temperatures in northern Taiwan, in general, could drop to as low as 13 degrees Celsius on Saturday night, while 15-17 degrees are forecast for other parts of the country.

In Taiwan's outlying counties of Penghu, Kinmen, and Lienchiang (Matsu Islands), temperatures are forecast to range from 10-19 degrees throughout the day, the CWA said.