Taiwan's worst drought in 56 years should be a matter of concern for the rest of the world. Taiwan's climate is subtropical in the north and central areas and tropical in the south, making it one of the rainiest locations on earth. Typhoons are frequent in the summer and fall, and monsoons are also common.
Since it rains too much there, umbrellas are available for borrowing at subway stations and businesses.Last year, however, something odd occurred, the island was spared from a typhoon. And there has not been any rain in the previous 12 months. Taiwan is experiencing the worst drought in 56 years as a result of this. Many of the country's reservoirs are below 20 percent capacity, with water levels dipping below 10 percent.
The world should be concerned about Taiwan's worst drought
The water level at the Baoshan No. 2 Reservoir in Hsinchu County, one of the main water supplies for Taiwan's $100 billion semiconductor industry, is at an all-time low, just 7 percent full. Since too many of the devices people use are fuelled by semiconductors or computer chips manufactured by Taiwanese firms, if this and other reservoirs in Taiwan dry up, it may be harmful to the global electronics industry.
Taiwan produces about 90 percent of the world's most sophisticated microchips, as per the BBC. They are used in everything from ventilators to laptops, and the pandemic has caused availability to be scarce. The United States is now concerned over an over-reliance on chips manufactured in other countries, including Taiwan.
The industry contributes significantly to the island's overall economy, but it uses a lot of water to clean the wafers used in many electronic products. Last year, the government stopped irrigating more than 74,000 hectares of farmland to ensure supplies.
Residents and people in business in three cities and counties, including one of Taiwan's largest towns, Taichung, have had their water shut off for two days a week. High-volume industrial consumers, such as semiconductor factories, have been requested to reduce water consumption by 13 percent in dry environments. In contrast, non-industrial users, such as hair salons and car wash companies, have been asked to reduce water usage by 20 percent.
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Taiwan's drought deepens chip shortage
Reservoirs are running dry in the foothills of Taiwan's mountainous spine as the island suffers from the worst drought in decades, a situation that threatens to exacerbate an already severe global semiconductor shortage. Taiwan is home to some of the world's largest and most sophisticated high-tech foundries, which are the backbone of a $450 billion global industry that supplies processing capacity for essential electronics but is also highly water-intensive.
Consumers bought up electronics in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, triggering a shortage that Taiwan's microchip factories were scrambling to fill long before the drought-hit. To satisfy demand, those foundries are now operating at maximum capacity, AFP via MSN reported.
However, the lack of rain exacerbates an insufficient condition for a production operation that needs billions of gallons of water per year to avoid chemical pollution. With an average rainfall of 2,600 millimeters, Taiwan is one of the rainiest areas on the planet.
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During the rainy season, typhoons frequently ram into the island from the east, replenishing reservoirs. But in 2020, no typhoon made landfall in Taiwan for the first time in 56 years.
Besides, rainfall has been less than 40 percent from normal in the first three months of this year. The largest reservoir in southern Taiwan, Tsengwen, has reached a 15-year low of less than 12 percent capacity, while the Baihe reservoir is empty.
So much so that a godsend shower in the central part of Taiwan enthralled all of them, although it only lasted 10 minutes, according to the island's national news service, Central News Agency (CNA). Residents and merchants reportedly cheered for the rain as they pulled out their phones to capture the scene. Jiayi, Nantou, and Kaohsiung were among the areas hit by the sudden shower.
Unfortunately, according to the local meteorological agency, the rainfall was not long enough to help alleviate the drought. Some people said the last time they had rain was in March and January, and it was just drizzling, as per Mothership.
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