Heat alerts in place for 7 cities, counties

Taipei, July 21 (CNA) Scorching weather is expected to continue around Taiwan as a Pacific high-pressure system strengthens, prompting the Central Weather Administration (CWA) to issue heat advisories for seven cities and counties on Tuesday.

The CWA said an "orange" heat warning has taken effect for parts of New Taipei in the north and Hualien County in the east, indicating that temperatures will hit 38 degrees Celsius on Tuesday or top 36 degrees for three days in a row in those areas.

A "yellow" heat alert has been put into effect for parts of Changhua and Yunlin counties in central Taiwan, Pingtung County in the south and Taitung County in the east, the CWA said, warning of highs of over 36 degrees on Tuesday.

The orange and yellow heat alerts will remain in effect until late Tuesday afternoon.

Elsewhere, the CWA said daytime highs are expected to range between 32 and 35 degrees Tuesday, and it warned of high ultraviolet radiation levels, particularly around midday.

Despite prevailing sunny skies and weakening southwesterly winds, which usually bring rain, brief thundershowers are possible in western Taiwan and heavy precipitation is forecast for the Greater Taipei area Tuesday afternoon, the CWA said.

That weather pattern is expected to continue through Thursday before Taiwan feels the impact of the outer bands of a tropical disturbance in the region on Friday and Saturday, according to the weather agency.

The weather system is currently located near the Philippines and moving toward the South China Sea, the CWA said, warning that the storm could destabilize weather conditions in Taiwan.

Echoing the CWA, independent meteorologist Wu Der-rong (吳德榮) said rainfall is likely to increase in eastern Taiwan starting on Friday night and then extend to other parts of the island on Saturday and Sunday.

Wu said the tropical disturbance is forecast to pass over Luzon Island on Saturday night before entering the South China Sea and moving toward Hong Kong, Macau and Guangdong.