Heat advisories issued for 9 cities, counties, as mercury to hit 36°C

Taipei, July 28 (CNA) Heat advisories have been issued for nine cities and counties in Taiwan as a Pacific high-pressure system strengthens, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said Tuesday.

The CWA issued a "yellow" heat alert -- indicating temperatures of 36 degrees Celsius -- for Taipei, New Taipei and Taoyuan cities in the north, Taichung City and Changhua and Nantou counties in central Taiwan, and Tainan and Kaohsiung cities and Pingtung County in the south on Tuesday.

Elsewhere in western Taiwan and Yilan County in the northeast, daytime highs are expected to range between 33 and 35 degrees, while the high in Hualien and Taitung counties in the east will hit 32 degrees, the CWA said.

The heat warnings will stay in effect until late Tuesday afternoon, according to the CWA, which also warned of high ultraviolet radiation levels, particularly around midday.

While sunny skies will prevail Tuesday, afternoon showers or thundershowers are possible in parts of western Taiwan, Yilan and mountainous areas in Hualien, the CWA said.

The CWA has issued a heavy rain alert for the Hengchun Peninsula, indicating accumulated rainfall is expected to exceed 80 millimeters within 24 hours or 40 mm within one hour.

A tropical depression in the Pacific became a tropical storm, named Dolphin, early Tuesday but the system is still far away from Taiwan and not expected to affect the island this week, the CWA said.

The tropical storm was centered about 5,630 kilometers east of Cape Eluanpi, Taiwan's southernmost point, as of 2 a.m. Tuesday, and was moving in a westward direction.