Temperature in Taipei's Shilin District soars past 37°C on Sunday

Taipei, June 15 (CNA) Mercury in Taipei's Shilin District had climbed past 37 degrees Celsius by noon on Sunday, as the Central Weather Administration (CWA) issued heat alerts for 16 municipalities, warning the public of intense heat expected across Taiwan.

According to CWA data, the hottest location in Taiwan as of noon was the Shezi area in Shilin, where the mercury reached 37.4 degrees Celsius at 10 a.m.

Miaoli County's Toufen Township recorded a temperature of 36.7 degrees at 11:40 a.m., making it the second hottest location in Taiwan by midday, the CWA said.

However, at 12:50 p.m., Jinfeng Township in Taitung County also recorded a temperature of 37.4 degrees, tying it as the second hottest location in Taiwan as of press time, according to CWA data released at 1:16 p.m.

Warning of a scorching weather on Sunday, the CWA issued heat information notices to 16 municipalities earlier in the day.

The agency issued a yellow level information notice for Taipei, New Taipei, Taoyuan, Taichung, Tainan, Kaohsiung, and Chiayi City, as well as Hsinchu, Miaoli, Changhua, Nantou, Yunlin, Chiayi, Pingtung, Hualien, and Taitung counties.

A yellow information is issued when the daily maximum temperature of a location reaches 36 degrees Celsius. The aforementioned areas could see the mercury soar past 36 degrees throughout the day, the CWA warned, with Taipei's Shilin and Xinyi districts already seeing highs exceeding that level.

The CWA further specified that locations inside the Taipei basin, the Hualien-Taitung Valley, mountainous areas, and river valleys in the western half of the island will also have a high chance of seeing highs reaching over 36 degrees.

The weather agency added that Sunday would be so hot that certain areas in Taitung could even experience Foehn winds, a downslope wind pattern that is typically dry and warm.

Aside from potential Foehn winds forecasted in Taitung, the CWA also said the greater Taipei area, the northeast parts and the eastern half of Taiwan's main island, as well as mountainous locations throughout the nation could see brief and localized thundershowers.

Meanwhile, independent meteorologist Wu Der-rong (吳德榮) said that between Monday and Tuesday, Taiwan will see sunny weather with a chance of cloudiness.

Moisture will return, bringing instability to the atmosphere and localized showers or thundershowers after noon, with the possibility of heavy rain, Wu said.

Wu added that between Wednesday to the following Tuesday, the island will be hot and again see sunny to cloudy weather patterns.

Brief showers or thundershowers could also manifest on mountainous areas after noon, with a high likelihood of spreading to low-lying areas that neighbor mountainous areas, Wu said.