Sunny skies, big day-night temperature gaps forecast for Taiwan next week

Taipei, March 12 (CNA) Sunny weather is expected across Taiwan next week, with significant temperature drops at night, independent meteorologist Wu Der-rong (吳德榮) said Thursday.

On Thursday, daytime temperatures will remain cool in northern Taiwan and warm in central and southern regions, but as a cold air mass approaches, the mercury will plunge at night, possibly to around 8 degrees Celsius in some low-lying areas, Wu said.

The cold air mass will weaken over the weekend, but radiative cooling will keep nighttime temperatures cold, with some non-mountainous areas recording lows of around 10 degrees, he said.

Daytime temperatures will gradually rebound next week, through to Thursday, but large day-night temperature gaps will persist, Wu said in his forecast.

According to the Central Weather Administration (CWA), temperatures on Thursday and Friday will range between 11 and 19 degrees in northern Taiwan, 10 and 24 degrees in central Taiwan, 14 and 29 degrees in the south, and 13 and 21 degrees in the east.

Over the weekend, daytime highs are expected to reach 23-24 degrees in northern and central Taiwan and about 26 degrees in southern areas, while nighttime lows will drop to around 9-13 degrees in the north and 13-15 degrees in the south, the CWA forecast.

Temperatures will continue to rise next Monday through Thursday, with daytime highs of 23-25 degrees in the north, 25-27 degrees in central Taiwan, and 27-29 degrees in the south, the CWA said.

Nighttime lows will remain between 13-15 degrees in northern regions, 14-16 degrees in central parts of the country, and 17-18 degrees in the south, its data shows.

Meanwhile, the lowest temperature recorded Thursday morning in a low-lying area was 9 degrees in Guanxi Township, Hsinchu County, followed by 9.1 degrees in Touwu Township, Miaoli County, according to the CWA.