Seven weather stations around Taiwan recorded new highs for this year on Sunday. The Central Weather Bureau said the southwesterly winds and a strong high pressure system over the Pacific had driven up the mercury.
Hot, dry down-slope winds known as “foehn winds” drove up the temperatures in the southeastern county of Taitung. The mercury soared to 37.3 C at just after noon in Dawu Township. That’s the hottest temperature recorded anywhere in Taiwan so far this year.
That’s not the highest temperature in history for Dawu, though. The highest May temperature for the township was 39.5 C, recorded back in 1954.
Meanwhile, the Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) was warning that the ultraviolet (UV) rays would reach excessive levels across Taiwan on Sunday.
People in the eastern areas of Yilan, Hualien and Taitung and on the outlying islands of Penghu were at the greatest risk, with the UV index forecast to hit the hazardous level of 11.