Taipei, Aug. 24 (CNA) Extreme weather events could become normal in the future, a climate expert has warned after a sudden downpour left densely populated areas of New Taipei inundated by flash flooding after just 30 minutes.
Extreme conditions like super-hot temperatures and sudden torrential rainfall, both of which Taiwan has seen in recent weeks, are a worldwide phenomena that will become common place, cautioned Liu Chung-ming, a professor in atmospheric science at National Taiwan University, who was quoted in the Chinese-language United Daily News Saturday.
The changes, brought about by global warming, hit Australia particularly hard early this year, with numerous forest fires and floods stemming from record temperatures and rain fall across the country in what has been dubbed "the angry summer," Liu noted.
Over the course of this month, heat waves have also struck in central China, East Asia, North America and Europe, the report said.
The mercury in Taipei hit 39.9 degrees on Aug. 8, setting a new record for Taiwan's capital, according to data from the Central Weather Bureau (CWB).
Friday in the capital began with blue skies before the weather suddenly turned in the afternoon, taking both residents and the CWB by surprise. The bureau did not issue a warning for torrential rain until hours later after 4 p.m.
CWB data shows that 10 out of 41 administration districts of Taipei and New Taipei saw rainfall of over 50 millimeters between 2 p.m. and 5 p.m. Friday. New Taipei's Zhonghe District was drenched with 116 mm of rain during that time.
Meteorologist Lin Ting-yi said Friday's unexpected storm was the result of a wet southwesterly wind and strong air current convection in the afternoon hours.
Flooding was reported across southwestern New Taipei, including the districts of Sanchong, Xinzhuang, Zhonghe, Banqiao and Tucheng.
(By Elizabeth Hsu)