Taiwan issues heat alerts for 13 areas as mercury to top 38°C

Taipei, May 27 (CNA) The Central Weather Administration (CWA) on Wednesday issued heat alerts for 13 cities and counties, warning that temperatures in parts of the island could climb to 38 degrees Celsius or higher amid scorching summer-like conditions.

The CWA placed Tainan and Pingtung under a red alert, indicating a possibility of extreme temperatures exceeding 38 degrees for three consecutive days.

Orange alerts were issued for Taipei, Keelung, New Taipei, Changhua, Yunlin, Chiayi City and County, Kaohsiung, Hualien and Taitung, indicating temperatures could exceed 38 degrees on Wednesday or reach 36 degrees for three consecutive days.

A yellow alert was issued for Taoyuan, where temperatures could also top 36 degrees.

The CWA additionally warned of possible foehn winds in Taitung County, a weather phenomenon that can bring hot, dry gusts down the leeward side of the Central Mountain Range and cause sudden spikes in temperature.

As of 10:30 a.m. CWA monitoring stations had already detected temperatures between 36.1 degrees and 36.7 degrees in Pingdong, Taitung, Hualien and Taipei.

Meanwhile, the CWA said a tropical depression east of the Philippines had strengthened into Tropical Storm Jangmi, which is forecast to move in a northwestern direction toward waters south of the Ryukyu Islands.

Independent meteorologist Wu Der-rong (吳德榮) said the latest U.S. forecast models showed the storm passing near the Ryukyu Islands in about five days before veering sharply to the northeast.

Jangmi currently poses no direct threat to Taiwan, Wu said, though he cautioned that uncertainty remains over its future track.

According to Wu, Taiwan will remain under a warm air mass through Thursday, bringing stable atmospheric conditions, limited moisture and intense daytime heat.

Writing in an online weather column, Wu said temperatures across Taiwan could approach 40 degrees through Thursday, though conditions were expected to ease slightly later that day.

Wu said a seasonal rain front is forecast to move southward Friday, bringing showers and lower temperatures across Taiwan.

The front is expected to weaken and shift toward the Bashi Channel on Saturday, leaving northern Taiwan cloudy, while other regions could still see isolated showers, he said.

Wu added that weather conditions are expected to turn partly cloudy Sunday, with afternoon thunderstorms likely in parts of central and southern Taiwan.