China News Agency, Taipei, May 9. Taiwan is facing its worst drought in 56 years.
May of the previous year has entered the rainy season, but the recent subtropical high pressure has caused scarce rainfall.
The Taiwan Meteorological Department said on the 9th that the rain signal will not be obvious in the coming week, and the weather will still be mainly sunny and hot.
Taiwan Meteorological Department forecaster Guan Xinping said on the same day that based on the current weather patterns, the water conditions in central and southern Taiwan are in desperate conditions. Long-term accumulation of precipitation is needed to alleviate the drought. However, there will be no obvious signs of rainfall in the coming week.
He said that generally speaking, May is the traditional rainy season. However, for a frontal system with long-standing heavy rainfall to appear, it will not be possible until the southwest monsoon is established, otherwise the drought cannot be alleviated.
But in the future, even if there is a front near Taiwan, the affected area will only be mainly in the north.
According to Taiwan media reports such as the Central News Agency, United News Network, and China Times News, the Kaohsiung Meteorological Station released high temperature information on the afternoon of the 9th, and observed a maximum temperature of 38.3 degrees Celsius.
In addition, Tainan, Pingtung, Chiayi and other places also lit up high-temperature orange or yellow signals.
The central and southern regions of Taiwan are severely short of water, and the northern region also has the risk of drought.
Taiwan's real-time hydrological information website shows that the water storage capacity of Yongheshan Reservoir is only 4.6%, Shimen Reservoir is 17.6%, and the water storage capacity of Feicui Reservoir and Xinshan Reservoir has also decreased significantly.
Some people ridiculed the change from "plum rainy season" to "no rainy season", and some called on the relevant departments to pay attention to it and make arrangements in advance.
The latest report "Taiwan Climate Risks and Opportunities" released by the Center for Risk Society and Policy Research of National Taiwan University pointed out that from the analysis of past trends, Taiwan’s long-term climate risks are higher than those of neighboring Asian economies. The threat of rising sea levels is listed as a high-climate risk economy.
In the context of increasing high-temperature weather, by the end of this century, Taiwan’s annual rainfall may be reduced by 40% to 60%.
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