Snow forecast to fall Monday on high mountains in northern Taiwan

Taipei, March 17 (CNA) A strong continental cold air mass that has enveloped Taiwan is expected to sprinkle snow on the mountains of northern and northeastern Taiwan at elevations of over 2,000 meters on Monday, according to the Central Weather Administration (CWA).

The cold front, coupled with moisture in the air, will not only bring snow to northern and northeastern mountains but is also expected to cause frost on peaks of over 3,000 meters in the northern half of Taiwan, the CWA said.

The CWA has issued an "orange" cold surge advisory, warning of "very cold" weather conditions in New Taipei and Taoyuan cities and Hsinchu and Miaoli counties in the north, and Yilan County in the northeast.

Keelung, Taipei and Hsinchu cities in the north are under a "yellow" cold surge advisory, which indicates "cold" weather conditions, according to the CWA.

As of early Monday morning, the lowest temperatures recorded in non-mountainous areas in Taiwan were 9.4 degrees Celsius in Wugu District in New Taipei and 9.8 degrees in the city's Shiding District, according to the CWA.

In the north and northeast of Taiwan, daytime highs on Monday were expected to hover around 12-14 degrees, while nighttime temperatures were forecast to drop to 11-12 degrees, the CWA said. The rest of the country will see highs of 16-21 degrees and lows of 13-15 degrees, it said.

The CWA has also forecast brief showers on Monday in eastern and southern Taiwan, as well as in mountainous areas in the west.

According to independent meteorologist Wu Der-rong (吳德榮), the effects of the current cold air mass will persist into Thursday, with the mercury likely to drop further, due to a radiative cooling effect, which refers to the cooling of the surface under clear skies, light winds, and dry conditions.

Starting Friday, temperatures will rise again gradually, and by next Monday, daytime highs are likely to hit 30 degrees, he said.

Meanwhile, the air quality across most of Taiwan was fair to good on Monday, according to the Ministry of Environment.

However, an "orange" alert was issued for some areas of Yunlin, Chiayi and Pingtung counties and Tainan and Kaohsiung cities in the south, indicating unhealthy air quality for sensitive groups such as the elderly, children, and people with cardiac or respiratory conditions, the ministry said.