Taipei City Government

Due to sun exposure and southwesterly flow today (July 14), Taipei City has exhibited temperatures of over 36 degrees Celsius for 3 straight days. The Central Weather Bureau (CWB) continues to issue a high-temperature warning (orange light), and Taipei City Government has also issued a heatwave alert, requesting various departments and bureaus to take precautions against heat injuries. Citizens are urged to take the necessary measures to protect themselves.

According to the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), in response to possible heat injuries caused by high temperatures, the heatwave advance warning mechanism was established in 2016. Last year, by taking the high-temperature information issued by the CWB into consideration, orange light and red light was adopted as the heatwave advance warning standard, where notifications will be given to appropriate bureaus and departments in the city government to activate the high-temperature response measures.

The Taipei City monitoring station has recorded temperatures of 37.4 degrees Celsius for 2 consecutive days, and a temperature of more than 36 degrees Celsius was also observed today. The CWB continues to issue the high-temperature orange light alert, where various bureaus and departments will be notified according to the heatwave advance warning mechanism to activate the heatwave response measures by following applicable SOPs.

The DEP indicated that in light of the potential heat injuries caused by climate change, high temperatures, and the heat island effect, the city government has activated high-temperature heat injury response measures. The agency has conducted water sprinkling on hot road sections to decrease the ambient temperature and mitigate the discomforts associated with excessive heat. Response actions taken by other bureaus and departments include the labor inspection of outdoor workers by the Department of Labor; caring for senior citizens living alone by the Department of Social Welfare; park irrigation by the Parks and Street Lights Office; emergency medical care by the Department of Health, and food safety awareness among food manufacturers, markets, and vendors by the Market Administration Office. The efforts implemented serve to minimize potential risks caused by high temperatures.

The first heat wave advance warning of this year was issued on June 21, 2019, and relevant response measures were implemented, including sprinkling 66km of the road surfaces, conducting 23 high-temperature labor inspections, and visiting 2,983 senior citizens living alone. After the alert was issued yesterday, DEP dispatched 5 sprinkler trucks to cool down road surface temperatures by sprinkling a total of 150 tons of water.

The DEP reminds the public that various heat injuries are likely to occur in the hot summer temperatures, including heatstroke, heat exhaustion, and heat cramp. Please stay indoors as much as possible during a heatwave; if you need to go outside, make sure to take precaution against sun exposure and rehydrate adequately to prevent heatstroke. Senior citizens, children, patients with chronic illness, underprivileged groups, outdoor workers or individuals exercising should stay away from high-temperature environments and monitor their physical wellbeing. Please seek medical attention as soon as possible if necessary.