A drastic temperature drop in Taiwan due to the Arctic cold wave claimed 78 lives in a single day.
On Sunday, Taiwanese media outlets, including the China Times, reported that the cold wave that hit Taiwan from midnight to 9 PM claimed 11 lives in northern Taipei, 10 in southernmost Pingtung, and 9 in southern Tainan, causing a total of 78 fatalities. This marks the highest daily death count attributed to cold weather in the island’s recorded history.
The media also disclosed alarming statistics from the past month. Between December 9 and 31 last year, 853 people succumbed to the cold. The death toll continued to climb, with an additional 492 fatalities reported from January 1 to 11 this year. The cold wave has claimed 1,345 lives in just over a month.
Taiwan’s Central Weather Administration (CWA) reported that temperatures on the outlying Matsu Islands plummeted to 5.4°C (41.7°F) on the morning of February 8. The wind chill factor in the Matsu and Miaoli areas stood at 1°C (33.8°F) and 2°C (35.6°F), respectively. Taiwan issued low-temperature warnings through the early hours of February 10, and temperatures are expected to recover starting February 11.
Despite its subtropical climate, which typically sees winter averages in the mid-50s Fahrenheit, Taiwan is grappling with the harsh reality of the cold snap. The island’s generally humid climate, coupled with a lack of central heating in residential buildings, causes the temperatures to feel much lower than the actual figure.
