Time Zone & Weather

Time Zone
Local time is 8/9 hours ahead of GMT, as they do not adhere to the practise of an hour of daylight saving in Autumn and the adjustment in Spring. So depending on the time of year Taiwan is 8 or 9 hours ahead of GMT.
To ensure you have the right time for interviews or for calling home click here.

Weather
Taiwan is sub-tropical and bisected but the tropic of Cancer.
Winter: December - January
Spring: March - May
Summer: June - August
Fall: September - November

Rainy/Typhoon Season: April – October
Dry Season: November – January
Daytime temperatures range from 33c in summer to 18c in winter with high humidity throughout the year.

July to August is also known as Typhoon season and the tropical storms will pass through or near to Taiwan, bringing strong winds and lots of rain. You will be able to monitor the Typhoon’s progress on the Internet.

Earthquakes are also fairly common. Earth tremors can occur at any time of the year in Taiwan, but the majority are so slight that they pass unnoticed (5 – 15 per month of magnitude 3 to 5 on the Richter Scale). Stronger tremors (5.0 or higher on the Richter scale) do occur around once every two or three months. The risk of an earthquake is about he same as living in LA. But don’t worry; larger buildings today are reinforced of steel-framed to withstand earthquake movement. For more information on earthquakes you can again visit the Central Weather Bureau website www.cwb.gov.tw