Brief rain is possible in Taiwan on Saturday

Taipei, April 26 (CNA) The effects of northeasterly winds along with the cloud system moving in from South China means brief rain is possible in northern and northeastern Taiwan on Saturday, according to the Central Weather Administration (CWA).

Stronger precipitation is forecast in Keelung City in the northern coastal area, mountainous areas in Taipei and New Taipei cities, Yilan County in the northeast and Hualien County in the east, said the CWA.

The lowest temperatures for Saturday were recorded at 17-18 degrees in the north, 18-19 degrees in central Taiwan and 20 degrees in the south in the early morning, the CWA said.

It forecast temperature highs will hit 23-24 degrees in the north and 28-31 degrees elsewhere, little changed from Friday.

The CWA said the mercury is expected to fall to 18-21 degrees in northern Taiwan and 22-24 degrees elsewhere Saturday night.

Due to the current seasonal wind system, the CWA has issued a strong wind advisory for Green Island in the southeast, Taoyuan and Hsinchu cities and Hsinchu and Miaoli counties in the north, Taichung City and Changhua County in central Taiwan, Yunlin, Chiayi Pingtung counties and Tainan City in the south, as well as outlying Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu islands.

The CWA said the strong wind alert will stay effective into early Sunday morning.

However, the ongoing seasonal northeasterly wind system is forecast to weaken on Sunday and push up daytime temperatures to as high as 30 degrees Celsius in northern Taiwan next week.

The CWA said moisture in the air is also expected to deplete on Sunday, with temperature highs forecast to range between 29-30 degrees in the north and 31-33 degrees in central and southern parts of the country.

However, another wave of northeasterly winds is expected to arrive on Monday, which will destabilize weather conditions to some extent before losing momentum starting on Tuesday, the CWA said.

It forecast stable weather will continue into Friday with only sporadic showers in the north and mountainous areas in the afternoon.

Wu Der-rong (吳德榮), an independent meteorologist and adjunct associate professor at National Central University, said temperatures are expected to recover from Tuesday through Wednesday with cloudy to sunny skies forecast around Taiwan and only brief showers in mountainous areas.

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

However, an "orange" alert was issued for some areas in central Taiwan, indicating unhealthy air quality for sensitive groups such as the elderly, children, and people with cardiac or respiratory conditions, the ministry said.