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Update Date: 2008/08/27 09:20
[China Times, Li Zongyou / Taipei Report]
Global warming, Taiwan cannot escape the heatwave invasion. Domestic academia pointed out yesterday that over the past half-century, the frequency of annual heatwave events and the duration of each event in Taiwan have shown an increasing trend, with the intensity also significantly strengthening. Professor Xu Huangxiong from the Department of Atmospheric Sciences at National Taiwan University said that if this phenomenon continues, the climate in Taiwan is likely to gradually shift from subtropical to tropical.
This research on "Heatwaves in the 21st Century" was jointly presented by Xu Huangxiong, graduate student Zhu Yinchen from the same institute, and Professor Chen Zhengda from the Graduate Institute of Earth Sciences at National Taiwan Normal University at the "2008 Taiwan Climate Change Symposium" yesterday.
Xu Huangxiong stated that the occasional summer temperature spike to 37 degrees Celsius may become "more frequent" in the future, as many international studies have found that the "Hadley Cell," which develops from the equator towards the north and south, continues to expand outward, causing the tropical zone to stretch northward.
The study analyzed the development trend of heatwave events in Taiwan based on observation data from 16 weather stations of the Central Weather Bureau from 1950 to 2005. More than half of the stations showed a significant increase in the frequency and duration of heatwaves, especially in five stations including Taipei and Kaohsiung, where the daily maximum or minimum temperatures during heatwave periods have significantly increased.
Taking Taipei as an example, the average annual occurrence of heatwaves in the 1950s was 0.4 times, increasing to 1.35 times by 2005; the duration of each heatwave increased from 2 days to 5.5 days. In Keelung, the frequency rose from 0.1 times per year to 2 times, with the duration extending from 1 day to 4.5 days. In Kaohsiung, the frequency increased from 0 times per year to 1.6 times, with the duration increasing from 0 days to 8 days, making it the region with the most significant increase in heatwave events in Taiwan.
Affected by global warming, the intensification of heatwave events in Taiwan is not only occurring in the densely populated western half but also frequently in the sparsely populated eastern half. In Yilan, the frequency increased from 0.1 times per year to 1.6 times, with the duration extending from 1 day to 8 days, showing a trend in heatwave intensity increase that is not inferior to Kaohsiung! The main fishing port in eastern Taiwan, Chenggong in Taitung County, has also been frequently hit by heatwaves in recent years, with the frequency increasing from 0.1 times per year 60 years ago to 1.8 times, and the duration extending from 1 day to 7 days.
The research team also used the prediction model from the fourth climate change report released by the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) last year to analyze that by the mid-21st century (2046 to 2065), the frequency and duration of global heatwaves will increase. Low-latitude regions will experience more frequent and prolonged heatwave events in the 21st century.
Source: http:/ / tw. news. yahoo. com/ art……url/ d/ a/ 080827/ 57/ 14vly. html
Global Warming Expands Hadley Cells, Shifts Taiwan's Climate from Subtropical to Tropical
[China Times, Li Zongyou / Taipei Report]
Global warming, Taiwan cannot escape the heatwave invasion. Domestic academia pointed out yesterday that over the past half-century, the frequency of annual heatwave events and the duration of each event in Taiwan have shown an increasing trend, with the intensity also significantly strengthening. Professor Xu Huangxiong from the Department of Atmospheric Sciences at National Taiwan University said that if this phenomenon continues, the climate in Taiwan is likely to gradually shift from subtropical to tropical.
This research on "Heatwaves in the 21st Century" was jointly presented by Xu Huangxiong, graduate student Zhu Yinchen from the same institute, and Professor Chen Zhengda from the Graduate Institute of Earth Sciences at National Taiwan Normal University at the "2008 Taiwan Climate Change Symposium" yesterday.
Xu Huangxiong stated that the occasional summer temperature spike to 37 degrees Celsius may become "more frequent" in the future, as many international studies have found that the "Hadley Cell," which develops from the equator towards the north and south, continues to expand outward, causing the tropical zone to stretch northward.
The study analyzed the development trend of heatwave events in Taiwan based on observation data from 16 weather stations of the Central Weather Bureau from 1950 to 2005. More than half of the stations showed a significant increase in the frequency and duration of heatwaves, especially in five stations including Taipei and Kaohsiung, where the daily maximum or minimum temperatures during heatwave periods have significantly increased.
Taking Taipei as an example, the average annual occurrence of heatwaves in the 1950s was 0.4 times, increasing to 1.35 times by 2005; the duration of each heatwave increased from 2 days to 5.5 days. In Keelung, the frequency rose from 0.1 times per year to 2 times, with the duration extending from 1 day to 4.5 days. In Kaohsiung, the frequency increased from 0 times per year to 1.6 times, with the duration increasing from 0 days to 8 days, making it the region with the most significant increase in heatwave events in Taiwan.
Affected by global warming, the intensification of heatwave events in Taiwan is not only occurring in the densely populated western half but also frequently in the sparsely populated eastern half. In Yilan, the frequency increased from 0.1 times per year to 1.6 times, with the duration extending from 1 day to 8 days, showing a trend in heatwave intensity increase that is not inferior to Kaohsiung! The main fishing port in eastern Taiwan, Chenggong in Taitung County, has also been frequently hit by heatwaves in recent years, with the frequency increasing from 0.1 times per year 60 years ago to 1.8 times, and the duration extending from 1 day to 7 days.
The research team also used the prediction model from the fourth climate change report released by the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) last year to analyze that by the mid-21st century (2046 to 2065), the frequency and duration of global heatwaves will increase. Low-latitude regions will experience more frequent and prolonged heatwave events in the 21st century.
Source: http:/ / tw. news. yahoo. com/ art……url/ d/ a/ 080827/ 57/ 14vly. html