Taiwan’s Central Weather Bureau (CWB) is concerned with earthquakes – or rather, the lack of them in 2017.  (As if the lack of typhoons isn’t enough of a problem.  The people I hear complain the most about typhoons also complain the loudest about water restrictions.)

There have been very few 5.0 or 6.0 earthquakes this year.  Taiwan’s earthquakes are slip faults, two plates sliding past each other.  Quakes as high as 7.0 are rare because of the gradual release of energy, the lack of earthquakes could mean a buildup.  Building construction is designed for the expected earthquakes, but what about the unexpected?

Too few earthquakes in Taiwan so far to release energy: CWB

Taipei, Sept. 21 (CNA) Taiwan has seen fewer earthquakes with a magnitude of 4.0 or higher on the Richter scale so far this year compared with previous years, which is not good for proper energy release, the Central Weather Bureau (CWB) said Thursday.

Taiwan usually experiences more than 100 temblors on that kind of scale each year, but as of Thursday, there had been only 42 episodes, said Kuo Kai-wen (郭鎧紋), director of the bureau’s Seismology Center.

[…]

Thursday was the 18th anniversary of the Jiji earthquake that hit central Taiwan [Sept. 21, 1999]. The tremor, which measured 7.3 on the Richter scale, took 2,415 lives.

In other environmental news, please remember that climate change isn’t real.

Penghu records highest September temperature in 121 years

Taipei, Sept. 24 (CNA) A temperature of 35.1 degrees Celsius was recorded by a weather monitoring station in Magong City, Penghu on Sunday, the highest recorded in September since the station was established 121 years ago.

Taiwan’s air quality has also been poor recently, with warnings for the elderly, young children and those with respiratory problems.  In one township, the red warning applied to all people.

Air quality unhealthy in parts of western Taiwan

Taipei, Sept. 24 (CNA) The air quality dropped to levels deemed unhealthy in central and southern parts of western Taiwan on Sunday, according to the Environmental Protection Administration’s Taiwan Air Quality Monitoring Network.

As of 12:00 a.m., the air quality indicator flashed red at the monitoring station in Hsingang Township in Chiayi County in the south, according to the monitoring network at the Environmental Protection Administration.

A red alert indicates that air quality is unhealthy for the general public.

As I write, most areas have only a “moderate” warning, but that’s at the end of a weekend, two days of industrial inactivity in China.  It will likely worsen by late Monday.