TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The authorities in Taiwan are calling for water conservation amid global droughts and uncertainties about water supply in the coming months.
La Nina has triggered unrelenting droughts worldwide, resulting in plummeting water levels in the Yangtze River and power cuts in China. Europe has been hit by the worst drought in 500 years as rivers run dry and wildfires ravage places across Australia, France, and the U.S.
Taiwan has its share of the climate woes as it has not been hit directly by a typhoon in three years. Even the “rainy city” of Keelung is experiencing water shortages in some areas and the famed hot spring attraction of Yilan’s Cingshuei Geothermal Park has had to halt services due to inadequate water supply from the source, according to the Water Resources Agency (WRA).
Meanwhile, the Central Weather Bureau has provided a gloomy outlook for typhoon landfall due to the La Nina effect and the high-pressure anomaly over Taiwan. The scarcity of typhoon-induced rainfall has taken a toll on the country’s coral ecosystems, with some facing imminent bleaching.
Members of the public are urged to reduce water usage as a precaution. The agency is implementing measures such as assisting businesses with improving their water conservation practices and asking people to cut unnecessary water usage.
WRA urges against unnecessary water usage. (WRA image)