Taipei: The Central Weather Administration (CWA) has predicted localized heavy rain in southern Taiwan on Sunday, marking the end of the Dragon Boat Festival long weekend. The weather update, released at 11 a.m., indicates that southern Taiwan will experience brief showers or thundershowers due to a cloud system moving northward. In contrast, southeastern areas may see isolated brief showers or thunderstorms.

According to Focus Taiwan, the CWA also noted that other parts of Taiwan, along with the outlying Matsu Islands, will predominantly have cloudy weather on Sunday, with localized brief thundershowers anticipated in the afternoon. In the outlying islands, Penghu might encounter brief showers or thundershowers, while Kinmen and Matsu are expected to see intermittent rainfall.

The CWA issued a heat alert at 11:48 a.m. for Kaohsiung and Hualien County, forecasting temperatures to exceed 36 degrees Celsius. As of 11 a.m., the highest recorded temperature was 35.8 degrees Celsius in Kaohsiung’s Neimen District. Yunlin County, Changhua County, and Tainan also experienced temperatures above 35 degrees, based on the CWA website. Previous predictions suggested daytime highs in western Taiwan would range between 33 and 34 degrees Celsius, while the eastern half would see highs of 30 to 32 degrees. Nationwide lows are expected to range from 22 to 26 degrees.

In offshore areas, temperatures will vary, with Penghu experiencing temperatures between 26 and 33 degrees, Kinmen between 24 and 31 degrees, and Matsu ranging from 23 to 28 degrees. Independent meteorologist Wu Der-rong commented that Taiwan will be surrounded by a hot air mass on Monday, making conditions “as hot as a scorching summer.” Due to lingering moisture in southern Taiwan, central and southern areas are likely to have localized brief showers or thundershowers on Monday, with rainfall intensifying in the afternoon, Wu added.