Taipei: Cold, wet weather conditions are expected to potentially affect the visibility of New Year’s Eve fireworks across northern and eastern Taiwan, as reported by the Central Weather Administration (CWA). The forecast indicates that these conditions could persist into New Year’s Day in some regions.
According to Focus Taiwan, the arrival of a northeasterly monsoon is set to bring cooler temperatures by Wednesday evening. This weather pattern may result in increased moisture, thereby lowering cloud ceilings in the northern and eastern parts of Taiwan, which could obstruct views of the planned fireworks displays. CWA forecaster Lin Ting-yi highlighted that temperatures in lowland areas of northern Taiwan will likely stabilize around 14 degrees Celsius, with further drops expected in mountainous areas.
As New Year’s Day approaches on Thursday, a strong cold air mass is anticipated to move southward, potentially causing heavy rain in coastal areas of Keelung and the mountainous regions of Taipei and New Taipei. Additionally, short-lived scattered showers are forecasted for areas north of Taoyuan, eastern Taiwan, and the Hengchun Peninsula. The Hsinchu-Miaoli region and central and southern mountain areas may also experience isolated brief showers, whereas other regions are expected to remain mostly cloudy.
The CWA predicts that the cold and damp conditions will prevail across most of Taiwan through Friday before drying out over the weekend. However, isolated showers may continue to affect the Keelung coastal areas, eastern Taiwan, and the Hengchun Peninsula. The incoming cold air mass is expected to bring temperatures down to as low as 6 to 10 degrees Celsius in lowland areas north of central Taiwan, and 10 to 12 degrees Celsius in the mountainous areas south of Changhua County.
Lin also mentioned the possibility of snowfall in mountains above 1,500 meters in northern and northeastern Taiwan, as well as high mountains above 3,000 meters in central and southern Taiwan, if the temperature and moisture conditions align. This snowfall is most likely to occur from Thursday evening to Friday morning.
