Ocean currents: a short-lived return to normal in Japan?
Strongly suspected of having intensified the rise in temperatures and severe weather, the phenomenon of the Kuroshio Current, the warm current that runs along Japan's Pacific coast, has extended over an abnormally long period. While this oceanographic anomaly appears to be coming to an end this time, a lasting return to normal seems unlikely, reports the Japanese press.
The Kuroshio, one of the world's largest ocean currents along with the Gulf Stream, runs along Japan's Pacific coast from southwest to northeast, carrying a colossal amount of warm water. However, in an unusual development, since 2017 this current has been detouring south, forming a U-shape south of the Tokai region, southwest of Tokyo.
This phenomenon, after having lasted more than seven years, has however weakened since last April, reports the daily Nihon Keizai Shimbun .
“ The current is no longer significantly diverted. On May 9, the Meteorological Agency reported what could be 'the beginning of the end' of the phenomenon. A finding that the country's coast guard shared a month later, via naval observation. The Meteorological Agency will monitor the situation until August and then issue a definitive announcement.”
Historically, this is not the first time that the archipelago has witnessed the Kuroshio River diverting: since 1965, it has experienced six such diversions. Today's diversion, however, is notable for its duration. It lasted more than seven years, whereas
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