Heat alert issued for Greater Taipei; mercury could hit 36°C Tuesday

Taipei, July 15 (CNA) The Central Weather Administration (CWA) has issued a heat advisory for the Greater Taipei area Tuesday due to the effects of a warm southwesterly wind system, while rain is expected in central and southern Taiwan.

A yellow heat warning took effect Tuesday morning in the Greater Taipei area, indicating daily maximum temperatures that could reach or exceed 36 degrees, according to the CWA.

The heat alert will remain in effect until late Tuesday afternoon as the southeasterly wind system brings warm air currents to Taipei and New Taipei, resulting in scorching hot weather in the two cities during the day.

Lower daytime highs of 31-32 degrees are expected in central and southern Taiwan as thicker cloud cover will lead to localized showers and thundershowers, the CWA said.

The CWA has issued a heavy rain advisory, referring to accumulated rainfall of 80 mm or more within a 24-hour period or 40 mm or more in an hour, for Taichung City and Changhua County in central Taiwan, and Chiayi and Tainan cities and Yunlin and Chiayi counties in the south.

The warning will remain in effect into late Tuesday afternoon.

The CWA predicted there will be less moisture in the air in the coming days, meaning that central and southern Taiwan could see stable weather conditions Wednesday and daytime temperatures ranging between 33 and 35 degrees.

Citing a European weather model, independent meteorologist Wu Der-rong (吳德榮) said a low pressure system could develop into a tropical weather system Friday and Saturday, and the system is likely to move past the Bashi Channel south of Taiwan over the weekend.

Wu said the tropical system could bring heavy rain to Taiwan from Saturday to Tuesday.

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