8.4°C recorded in New Taipei as cold surge warning continues

Taipei, Jan. 7 (CNA) The Central Weather Administration (CWA) recorded a temperature of 8.4 degrees Celsius in Shiding District, New Taipei, early Wednesday morning, the lowest temperature on Taiwan proper.

The CWA issued cold surge advisories for most parts of Taiwan, warning of lows below 10 degrees Celsius through Wednesday night, as a strong continental cold air mass and radiational cooling continued to affect the country.

An "orange" alert was issued for Kinmen County, New Taipei, Taipei, Taoyuan, Hsinchu County and Yilan County, signaling sustained temperatures around or below 10 degrees Celsius, with some areas possibly dropping below 6 degrees.

A "yellow" alert, warning of minimum temperatures below 10 degrees, was issued for Keelung City, Hsinchu City, Miaoli County, Taichung, Changhua County, Nantou County, Yunlin County, Chiayi City, Chiayi County, Tainan and Kaohsiung.

As of 9:26 a.m. Wednesday, CWA data showed that the three lowest temperatures in low-elevation areas across Taiwan were 5.8 degrees in Kinmen's Jincheng Township, 6.8 degrees in Matsu's Nangan Township, and 7.2 degrees in Kinmen's Lieyu Township. Kinmen and Matsu are two Taiwan-controlled island groups.

The weather agency said the cold conditions were caused by a strong continental cold air mass combined with radiational cooling, a process in which heat is released from the ground into the atmosphere.

Independent meteorologist Wu Der-rong (吳德榮) said, citing the latest model simulations, that strong cold air would blanket Taiwan from Thursday through Saturday morning.

While the intensity of the cold air is comparable to the previous cold spell, clear and stable weather conditions are expected to enhance the effects of radiational cooling, Wu said.

He added that although temperatures at elevations above 2,000 meters could still fall below freezing, snowfall is unlikely.