Taiwan sees temperatures falling to 3.9°C early Saturday morning

Taipei, Jan. 10 (CNA) The ongoing cold air mass has brought temperatures down, with Guanxi of Hsinchu County in northern Taiwan recording the lowest temperature of the day, at 3.9 degrees Celsius, early Saturday morning, according to the Central Weather Administration (CWA).

The CWA said the freezing weather in Taiwan's low-lying areas also resulted from radiative cooling effects, which refers to the cooling of the ground under clear skies, light winds and dry conditions.

Meanwhile, mountains of 2,500 meters or higher around Taiwan could see snow or snow pellets in the second half of Saturday, with increasing moisture in the air, the CWA said.

It said snow did not fall on 3,952-meter Yushan (Jade Mountain), the highest peak in Taiwan, Saturday morning due to insufficient moisture, despite the mercury dipping to minus 5.6 degrees Celsius at 6:26 a.m.

As the CWA warned of the mercury falling below 10 degrees, a "yellow" signal has come into effect in Keelung, New Taipei, Taipei and Taoyuan cities and Hsinchu and Miaoli counties in the north, Yilan County in the east and outlying Kinmen islands.

The CWA said highs could hit 19 degrees in the north and 20-23 degrees in central and southern Taiwan as well as in the east on Saturday, but it urged the public to stay alert over the daytime-nighttime temperature differences.

According to the CWA, the cold air mass will start to weaken on Sunday and the mercury is expected to recover gradually to hit 21 degrees in the north and 24 degrees in central and southern Taiwan on Monday.