Pacific High Pressure Rapidly Strengthens, Expect a Hot Dragon Boat Festival

Taiwan is bracing for a sweltering Dragon Boat Festival holiday as a rapidly strengthening Pacific high-pressure system is set to bring soaring temperatures. Forecasters predict that the mercury will climb above 35 degrees Celsius (95 degrees Fahrenheit) starting the holiday weekend, with some areas potentially reaching even higher.

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The Pacific high pressure is rapidly strengthening, and the dry zone of the high pressure is extending into the South China Sea again. Afterwards, the high pressure will tend to move north, and the weather in Taiwan will gradually stabilize.

Former head of the Central Weather Administration, Zheng Ming-dian, noted on Facebook that the high-pressure system's dry air is extending into the South China Sea and is expected to move northward. This will lead to more stable weather conditions across Taiwan, but at the cost of intense heat.

WeatherRisk analysis specialist Xue Hao-tian explained that while the early part of the week might see some scattered showers, particularly in the north and northeast, the holiday period will be characterized by sunny to partly cloudy skies. However, the influence of the southwest monsoon will cause temperatures to rise significantly, especially in the Taipei Basin and the Hualien-Taitung valley, where temperatures could exceed 36 degrees Celsius.

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The weather pattern will be similar tomorrow. Starting from the Dragon Boat Festival holiday, the Pacific high pressure will gradually extend westward. Taiwan will be influenced by the southwest wind environment on the edge of the Pacific high pressure. The weather in various places will be mostly sunny to cloudy.

While there is a possibility of a tropical disturbance forming near Guam, current projections suggest it will move westward and then curve northeastward away from Taiwan. Forecasters are monitoring the situation, but the likelihood of it impacting the island appears low at this time.

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The temperature will rise again, and the Taipei Basin and the Hualien-Taitung valley, affected by the downdraft of the southwest wind, will have local high temperatures of 36 degrees or more.