Taiwan can be described in many ways, but “winter wonderland” isn’t usually one of them. Thursday was an exception, with a strong cold wave bringing a dusting of white to mountaintops island-wide.
A cold wave has sent temperatures across many areas of Taiwan tumbling into the single-digits Celsius, and in the island’s rugged interior, the mercury has even sunk below the freezing point.
From Yilan in the northeast to Taitung in the south, the year has ended on a wintry note, with light snow and freezing rain.
On the morning of New Year’s Eve, visitors flocked to Yilan’s Taiping Mountain, where temperatures plunged to -5C, in order to check out the snowy view.
Elsewhere in Yilan County, ice formed on the fence of the elementary school in the indigenous village of Nanshan.
On the opposite end of the island, in the southeastern county of Taitung, the area around the high-elevation Hsiang-yang Police Station also saw snowfall. Police there are reminding those wanting to come up for a look at the snow to come warmly dressed and properly equipped.