Temperatures in 7 municipalities soar to 36°C: CWA

Taipei, June 28 (CNA) Taiwan's Central Weather Administration (CWA) on Saturday issued heat alerts for seven municipalities, warning residents that temperatures could reach 36 degrees Celsius or higher in Pingtung and Hualien counties, which received the alert three days in a row.

At press time, the agency issued a yellow-level heat warning for Taipei, New Taipei, Kaohsiung as well as Changhua and Yunlin counties, and an orange alert for Pingtung and Hualien counties.

The yellow alert means daily maximum temperatures in these areas could reach or exceed 36 degrees, while an orange alert indicates that highs of a municipality has hit at least 36 degrees for three consecutive days.

The CWA also warned that highs exceeding 36 degrees are forecasted for locations close to mountainous areas in the greater Taipei area and the same terrains in Kaohsiung and also Changhua, Yunlin and Pingtung counties.

Meanwhile, highs around the rest of Taiwan will range between 31 and 35 degrees, the CWA said, adding that in Taiwan's offshore counties, Penghu will experience temperatures ranging between 26 and 32 degrees, Kinmen from 26 to 32 degrees, while Matsu could see 26 to 31 degrees.

The CWA said the nation will mainly see cloudy to sunny skies throughout the day when it is not raining.

The southeastern parts of the island and the Hengchun Penninsula will see brief and sporadic showers, it said.

Meanwhile, in the western half of the nation, some mountainous areas as well as foothills and nearby low-lying grounds will also see brief and concentrated thundershowers.

The CWA warned of high chances of localized heavy rain in the southern part of Taiwan and also in mountainous areas north of central Taiwan.

According to independent meteorologist Wu Der-rong (吳德榮), atmospheric moisture will decrease between next Tuesday and the following Monday to bring even more sunny weather across Taiwan with chances of brief and localized precipitation or thundershowers only in the afternoon.

He also added that there is a likelihood that on next Tuesday and Wednesday, Taiwan could see the highest temperatures thus far this year, advising the public to be aware of potential heatstroke.

Wu said that a tropical disturbance could form over the sea east of the Philippines and could potentially hit Taiwan.

Moreover, Wu said Tropical Storms could form above the waters of the Pacific Ocean north of Guam and south of Okinawa in the later half of next week, adding that the trajectory of the front has been predicted to move northeast with a low chance of affecting Taiwan.