Taiwan is threatened by increasingly frequent extreme weather
events due to climate change
The change in climate taking place in the Republic of China (Taiwan)
is part of global climate change, with the range and rate of change
broadly in line with the global average. For example, while the
average surface temperatures for the island of Taiwan have been
increasing since the early 20th century, the rate of increase has been
greatest since the 1970s.
However, readings taken from six weather stations around Taiwan
over the last 100 plus years show that Taiwan’s annual average surface
temperature increased by 1.4℃ between 1911 and 2009, or
approximately 0.14 ℃ per decade, which is almost twice the global
average rate. The rate of temperature increase for the last 30 years, at
0.29℃ per decade, is almost twice the global 100-year linear trend.
These figures correspond to the conclusions made in the
Intergovernmental Panel on
Climate Change (IPCC) Fourth
Assessment Report (AR4).
In terms of global rainfall, AR4 did not provide specific figures for
rates of change, as the amount of precipitation is subject to many
factors and regional differences. However, the rate at which the
number of rain days in Taiwan has been decreasing is alarming.
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Between 1911 and 2009, the annual average number of rain days for
the whole island decreased at the rate of approximately four days
every decade, a trend that worsened to six days every decade after
1980. While this trend can be seen in all four seasons, the most
obvious decrease has been in the summer months.
According to AR4, in terms of sea levels, the global average rate of
sea level rise was approximately 1.7 mm per year during 1961 to 2003,
and 3.1 ± 0.7 mm per year during 1993 to 2003, showing an
accelerated rate of sea level rise. The average rate observed at tide
stations around Taiwan during 1993 to 2003 was 5.7 mm, which is
twice the average for the past 50 years and much greater than the
global average.
Located along the circum-Pacific island arc, Taiwan’s dual tropical
and subtropical monsoon climates means it is exposed to the threat of
a variety of severe weather and climate extremes such as typhoons,
heavy rain, cold surges and droughts. Taiwan’s unique geographic
location and wealth of systematic data sets from numerous weather
stations over the last 100 years make the island an ideal place to
observe and monitor changes in both the climate and oceanic
eco-system.
In addition to a densely distributed automatic rain gauge observation
network, advanced meteorological Doppler radar network, and satellite
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receiving systems, Taiwan has nearly 30 years of experience in
numerical weather modeling and prediction systems. It is one of the
few countries in the Asia Pacific capable of issuing effective forecasts
for both severe weather events in East Asia and three-to-six month
short-term climate in Asia. Furthermore, Taiwan recently set up the
APEC Research Center for Typhoon and Society to reinforce the
early-warning system in the Asia Pacific and has routinely provided
short-term climate models for the APEC Climate Center (APCC)
multi-model forecast. Such information serves as a crucial reference at
the national level for making policy or taking action related to climate
change adaptation, disaster prevention and resource management.
The above demonstrates that Taiwan plays an indispensable role in
contributing to climate data collection and analysis, as well as climate
simulations and projections through advanced techniques. If Taiwan
were able to participate as an observer in UNFCCC-related
organizations, it could more effectively provide relevant information to
the international community and, in particular, could help countries in
Southeast Asia better understand and use this information.
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