Bavi's outer bands forecast to bring rain to Taiwan from Thursday

Taipei, July 4 (CNA) Typhoon Bavi is forecast to move closer to Taiwan starting Thursday and its outer bands could bring rain and cooler temperatures around the country, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said Saturday.

As of 8 a.m., the eye of the typhoon, which strengthened from a typhoon with "moderate intensity" into one with "intense intensity" Friday night, was located about 3,400 kilometers east-southeast of Cape Eluanbi, Taiwan's southernmost tip, and was moving in a westerly to west northwesterly direction at 14 km per hour.

It was packing maximum sustained winds of up to 191 kph near its center, with gusts of up to 235 kph.

The CWA said as the storm is still far from Taiwan, the agency needs more time to observe its path, but did not rule out the possibility of issuing a sea or land warning for Bavi.

Independent meteorologist Wu Der-rong (吳德榮) cited a weather model as saying the impact on Taiwan from the storm could be strongest Friday to Saturday (July 10-11).

Bavi was upgraded from a tropical storm to one with intense intensity in just 36 hours and is expected to continue to strengthen, with a storm radius of 350 km, due to the El Niño phenomenon, Wu said.

According to the CWA, a typhoon with intense intensity means it has a wind speed in excess of 184 km per hour, while the wind speed of a tropical storm and a typhoon with moderate intensity ranges between 62-117 km per hour and 118-183 km per hour.

Taiwan is currently under the influence of a strong Pacific high pressure system, which will continue from Saturday (July 4) to Wednesday, with daytime temperatures around the country likely to reach 36 degrees Celsius and even 38 degrees in some inland areas, the CWA said.

Amid scorching heat, the CWA warned of high levels of ultraviolet radiation, particularly around midday, and urged the public to stay hydrated and take precautions against heatstroke.