The Central Weather Bureau attributed the 7.3 C temperature — recorded along the flat Chiayi coast at 6:58 a.m. before the sun rose — to the onslaught of the winter’s first cold front from the north and clear skies that have maximized radiative cooling overnight. In mountainous areas, the CWB recorded temperatures of 0.4 C on Alishan (Mt. Ali) in eastern Chiayi at 12:12 a.m. Wednesday, and minus 6.3 C on Yushan (Mt. Jade), Taiwan’s highest mountain, at 5:22 a.m. No snow fell in the two areas, however, due to a low level of humidity, the bureau said.

The northern cold front first hit Taiwan Sunday night and should affect Taiwan until today, with lows reaching 7 C in open, coastal areas, CWB forecasters said.

The bureau urged the public to be prepared for sudden temperature changes and called on farmers and aquaculture operators to take precautionary measures to prevent their fish from being exposed to frostbite or freezing to death.