Mercury forecast to top 36°C Tuesday as warm southwesterly winds strengthen

Taipei, April 21 (CNA) Southwesterly winds are expected to get warmer on Tuesday, pushing up daytime temperatures around Taiwan by about 2 degrees Celsius from a day earlier, with the mercury expected to top 36 degrees in the greater Taipei area and the south, according to the Central Weather Administration (CWA).

Speaking with CNA, CWA forecaster Tseng Chao-cheng (曾昭誠) said on Monday that with little moisture in the air and cloudy to sunny skies prevailing, Taiwan is expected to record the highest daytime temperatures in the week Tuesday.

In addition to Taipei and New Taipei cities, Tseng said 36 degrees or higher is also possible in Tainan and Kaohsiung cities and Pingtung County in the south, while Taitung County in the southeast is expected to feel the pinch from foehn winds, hot and dry southwesterly winds that sink into the region after crossing the Central Mountain Range, to record similar scorching temperatures.

ont approaching and a seasonal northeasterly wind system strengthening to bring in showers or thunderstorms in the northern half of Taiwan and eastern areas, Tseng said

Rain is possible around Taiwan from Friday to Saturday, he added.

Precipitation will send daytime temperatures down to around 30 degrees across most of Taiwan Wednesday and seasonal winds will drag temperature highs down further to 25-27 degrees Thursday and even 20 degrees on Friday in northern and northeastern Taiwan, Tseng said.

With the weather system weakening, the mercury in the daytime is expected to recover to 25 degrees on Saturday and rise to 30 degrees on Sunday, he noted.

Meanwhile, Tseng urged the public to remain alert for dense fog and low visibility in the outlying Matsu and Kinmen islands from Tuesday to Wednesday.