By / Fresh from Jingdianjia (reported)
With the Spring Festival holiday approaching, learn how the weather may affect your clothing choices, travel mood, and plans by checking the forecast for the coming days up to the holiday.
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Weather satellite cloud image. (Photo / Central Weather Bureau)
On Monday (the 20th), the continental cold air mass weakens slightly, but the northern and northeastern regions remain cold. Due to radiative cooling, the central and southern areas are also chilly in the morning and evening, with large day-night temperature differences. The eastern half of the country sees localized brief showers, and the Greater Taipei mountainous areas have scattered brief showers as well, while other regions are mostly cloudy to sunny.
Starting Tuesday (the 21st) during the day, the cold air mass weakens, but radiative cooling remains a concern with lower morning temperatures, though daytime temperatures rise. From Tuesday to Friday (Lunar New Year’s Eve, the 24th), the environmental wind pattern shifts to easterly or southeasterly, bringing a noticeable rebound in high temperatures across the regions.
Over these four days, the Greater Taipei and Yilan areas will see high temperatures around 23–25°C, while the central, southern, and Hualien-Taitung regions range between 25–28°C, with some southern areas possibly nearing 30°C. Overall, the weather remains stable, with most areas being mostly cloudy to sunny, except for occasional localized brief showers in the eastern half. Note the low temperatures in the morning and evening (around 16–18°C) and the significant day-night temperature variations.
On Saturday and Sunday (Lunar New Year’s Day and Second Day, the 25th and 26th), humidity increases slightly, with localized brief showers in the eastern and northern areas, and temperatures around 20°C. Other regions will be mostly cloudy.
From the 27th to the 29th (Fourth Day and holiday return days), moisture levels near Taiwan remain relatively high, with a strengthening trend in the northeast monsoon. The northern and eastern regions turn cooler, with localized brief showers in central-northern and eastern areas, and more cloud cover elsewhere.
Starting the 21st, the central and southern regions, and from the 22nd to the 25th, the western half of the country as well as Kinmen and Matsu, are prone to localized fog or low clouds affecting visibility. Drivers and travelers are advised to pay attention to road and flight conditions.
Recent air quality should be monitored. According to EPA air quality forecasts: on Monday (the 20th), with a northeasterly environmental wind flow, areas south of Chiayi and Tainan lie in the downwind zone where pollutants tend to accumulate. Vertical dispersion conditions are poor in the early morning and at night, causing pollutants to build up closer to the ground. During the day, vertical dispersion improves slightly, with most western regions rated as “fair.”
Yilan and Hualien-Taitung air quality zones are rated “good”; the northern, Zhubei-Miaoli, and central zones are rated “fair,” with short-term orange alerts possible in mountainous parts of the central zone. Yunlin-Kaohsiung-Pingtung and Hengchun-Penghu zones are rated “orange alert.”