TAIPEI (TVBS News) — A cold snap gripped Taiwan Wednesday (Jan. 14) morning, with the Central Weather Administration (CWA, 中央氣象署) reporting a low of 5.2 degrees Celsius in Guanxi Township (關西鎮), Hsinchu. The chill resulted from a continental cold air mass and radiative cooling, prompting a low-temperature advisory at 6:33 a.m. for Hsinchu County and Miaoli County under an orange alert, while 14 other counties received a yellow alert.
Meteorologist Wu Der-romg (吳德榮) cautioned that a strong continental cold air mass could push temperatures below 8 degrees next week, urging residents to stay warm. He explained in his column that radiative cooling led to morning lows of 7 to 10 degrees in areas south of Hsinchu. Wu also noted that while sunny and stable weather will prevail in Taiwan through Friday, the temperature is expected to drop significantly at night.
On Saturday and Sunday (Jan. 17-18), the western half of Taiwan will experience warm and clear weather, while the eastern half will see an increase in moisture. Wu predicted that starting Monday (Jan. 19), cold air will bring occasional rain to the north, with temperatures continuing to drop on Tuesday (Jan. 20). Wu mentioned that by midweek, Taipei could meet the criteria for a "strong continental cold air mass" as temperatures dip to 8 degrees.
Lin De-en (林得恩) of National Taiwan University (國立台灣大學) warned that a new cold air mass on Tuesday might escalate to a cold surge. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Environment (環境部) reported that pollutants could accumulate in western Taiwan due to the continental cold air mass, resulting in moderate or orange air quality alerts.