Taiwan forecasts 53 additional days of extreme heat per year — Taipei Times
By the end of the century, the number of days with extreme heat in Taiwan, when temperatures reach 36°C or higher, could increase by 53 per year. This forecast was presented by Chang Wan-yu, a specialist at the Central Weather Administration, reports Taipei Times.
The estimate is based on 100 years of data. According to Chang, over this period Taiwan’s average temperature has risen by 1.5°C, while summers have become longer. Under the worst-case global warming scenario, temperatures could rise by another 3.4°C by the end of the century. This could mean nearly two additional months of extreme heat each year.
Heat and shifting seasons
In 2020, a weather station in Taipei recorded 46 days when temperatures exceeded 36°C. Global warming is already affecting the island’s weather systems: the first day when temperatures drop below 14°C, as well as the first autumn front, are consistently occurring on increasingly later dates.
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Chang also noted that warming affects precipitation patterns. From 1960 to 2020, years with low rainfall occurred more often than before 1960. At the same time, from 1990 to 2015, annual maxima of daily precipitation became more extreme.
Droughts and more intense typhoons
According to the specialist’s assessment, meteorological droughts in Taiwan will become more severe, more frequent and more widespread. Typhoons are expected to become less frequent but more intense.
She also drew attention to compound climate events — for example, when a drought and a heat wave occur simultaneously or sequentially. Such events can amplify each other’s effects. According to the estimates cited, the difference between global warming of 1.5°C and 2°C could increase the share of coral reefs experiencing bleaching from 70% to 99%, and the share of the population experiencing extreme heat once every five years from 14% to 37%.
