本文利用中央氣象局23個綜觀氣象站及95個自動氣象站的地面觀測資料，分析台灣地區1997~2010年的年平均、月平均與逐時平均等溫度特徵。研究發現年均溫的分布主要受到海拔高度和緯度的影響。測站溫度與海拔高度有顯著的負相關(p < 0.05)，即測站海拔高度越高溫度越低，全區、平地（低於400m）及山地測站（高於400 m）的年平均變化率分別為 –5.21、–8.20及 –4.77℃/km。與山地站相比，平地測站溫度和緯度有較顯著的負相關(p < 0.05)，年平均變化率為 –0.73℃/緯度，即往北一個緯度則溫度降低0.73℃。
類似年均溫，月均溫分布顯示西部和東部的溫度都是從平地往山區、從南到北遞減的變化，另外可看出季風系統轉換的影響。以平地地區而言，在3～5 月季風轉換成西南季風時，西部月均溫明顯升溫比較快，9～11 月東北季風時，北部、東北部先降溫，西南部受山脈屏障降溫較慢。本研究進一步以2條分別位於北迴歸線南北的東西向測站剖線，來分析台灣局部地區的溫度特徵。研究發現在同緯度地區溫度的時空分布，除了受到高度、緯度及季風氣候影響外，還會受到不同的地理條件如測站周邊地形、海溫、雲量與盛行風（風向與風速、地方風系如迴流季風、海陸風或山谷風）等因素的影響。

Surface measurements from 23 synoptic stations and 95 automatic stations of Central Weather Bureau are used to analyze climatic features of annual, monthly and hourly mean temperature in Taiwan area from 1997 to 2010. The annual and monthly mean temperatures are mainly controlled by altitude and latitude. The station altitude has a strong relationship with the station temperature (p < 0.05). As the station altitude is higher, the station temperature is lower. The annual mean of temperature lapse rates for all stations, stations over the plain areas and stations over the mountain areas are –5.21, –8.20 and –4.77℃/km, respectively. Compared with station temperatures over mountain areas (heights more than 400 m), those over plain areas (heights less than 400 m) have a stronger relationship (p < 0.05) with latitude. The temperature change relative to latitude for stations over plain areas is –0.73 ℃/latitude, which implies a decrease of 0.73℃ for one degree of northward latitude movement.
Similar to annual mean temperature, the monthly mean temperature shows a gradual temperature decrease from the plain areas to mountain areas and from the south to the north, and the seasonal temperature change from monsoon systems. Over the plain area, temperature in March-May increases more in the west than in the east. During the northeast monsoon, temperatures in September-November decreases quickly in the north and northeast areas and those decreases slowly in the southeast area due to the mountain barrier. Further examination of temperature in local areas with stations over two east-west directed lines shows that besides the altitude, latitude and monsoons, the local temperature distributions might be affected by different geographical conditions such as surrounding topography, sea surface temperature, cloud cover and prevailing wind (wind speed and wind direction, and local wind systems such as returned seasonal wind, sea-land breeze or mountain-valley breeze).