The lack of spring rain caused the Sun and Moon lake, otherwise the largest on the island, to dry up completely in many places, leaving only a cracked bottom, the AP agency reported.
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Also in the Sh’en Dam near the city of Chaoyuan, which is an important water source for northern Taiwan, the water level dropped significantly during the drought. It is now at historic lows.
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Level drop by 30 meters
The ticket vendor at Sh’men Reservoir said that in the five years he had been working here, he had never seen such a low level. According to him, it dropped by more than 30 meters compared to the usual state.
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The local fisherman hopes that the water will return soon. However, he would like summer torrential rains, the typhoon does not want to.
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Without a typhoon for the first time since 1964
Weather expert Pcheng Qing said that the drought in Taiwan is caused by unusual climatic phenomena, which in turn cause them to currently have the greatest drought in a hundred years.
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“2020 was also the first year that Taiwan has not been a typhoon for a whole year. This is very rare. The last time this happened was in 1964. Typhoons represent more than half of the year-round rainfall in Taiwan, “he explained according to the AP.
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“The second half of last year is also characterized by the La Niña phenomenon, which foreshadowed very little rain in our country this spring. We only got 20 percent of the rainfall compared to the local spring average. I can say that it hardly rained. So this year’s drought is a continuation of last year’s, “he added.
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| There is a set of weather events collectively referred to as El Niño / Southern Oscillations. It is a natural climate pendulum that shifts temperatures in the tropical Pacific to either cold (The girl) or hot phases (El Niño). |
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The Taiwanese intend to tackle the drought. According to the local Water Resources Agency, a total of 33 wells have been excavated on both banks of the Taichien River in the last two years.
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In addition to trying to obtain water resources in this way, Taiwanese water purification stations also provide filtered water free of charge to anyone who needs it.
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After cleaning, the water is used for watering flowers, cleaning floors or vehicles on the construction site. In this way, people can avoid using clean tap water for this purpose.
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