I love capturing signage such as this. It looks like the fears of a typhoon approaching Taiwan have been realised (Typhoons frequently menace Taiwan, Japan, the Philippines, Hong Kong and southern China during the storm season that lasts from early summer to late autumn). I was going to head out this morning to consider buying some essential supplies for subsequent trips when the rain struck. A stark contrast to the lovely sunny day that we had when this picture was taken. The upside of rain such as this is that the temperature tends to be much more reasonable making air conditioning not so essential.
Other than the sound the first indication you have that it's rain is the smell. It's an intense smell. One of the things you learn when living here is to avoid going out in the rain, you don't want this rain touching your body. When I was in Hong Kong there was a report that stated that the ph levels were so high in the rain that it was essentially raining vinegar! There was extreme concern that most of the old heritage buildings in the city will disintegrate in the coming years (this was announced on TV and I can find no reference to it online). Thats a concept difficult to accept - raining vinegar. Hong Kong environmental officials blame the rapid industrialization of mainland China to the north (Guangdong) for the dramatic increase in air pollution.
Taiwan like China suffers from heavy pollution. According to the Energy Information Administration of the Department of Energy "Taiwan's environmental problems include: air pollution; water pollution from industrial emissions and raw sewage; the contamination of drinking water supplies; trade in endangered species; and low-level radioactive waste disposal." A Taiwanese environmental group released a statement (2003) indicating that the country's environmental sustainability index was likely to slip from 58th to 119, making it one of the worst of the 143 countries examined.
"Many of Taiwan's environmental problems can be linked to overcrowding. The country's population is nearly 23 million while the surface area is less than 14,000 square miles. This averages out to around 1,600 persons per square mile, making Taiwan among the most densely populated nations on earth. Taiwan has the highest density of factories and motor vehicles in the world. Moreover, most of the population is packed into 2,300 square kilometers of alluvial plain along the island's western coast. This area is also home to the country's 7 million animal hog rearing industry, which produces the waste equivalent of a further 30 million people. Also inhabiting the area are more than 8 million manufacturing facilities."
Source: Taiwan Environmental Issues
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