Kuroshio Current

Professor Wang Haowen of National Cheng Kung University's Marine Biology and Cetacean Research Center said the Xiaoliuqiu whale shark appears to be a male measuring about four meters long and is not yet sexually mature.

It may have reached the area while traveling along a branch of the Kuroshio Current.

For the divers who happened to cross paths with it, it was a very rare encounter and one that can now help researchers learn more about the whale sharks passing through Taiwan's waters.

Iceland's government plans to introduce legislation in February that would permanently end commercial whaling, potentially leaving Norway and Japan as the world's only countries still allowing the practice.

A combination of several different factors caused the heavy rain.

The main reason was the path of the storm overlapped with the warm Kuroshio Current.

As you know, tropical storms need warm, moist air to intensify, so this situation was perfect for development.

The storm gained moisture from the warm water and brought downpours to the same locations.