Worrying about the beaches of the Mexican Caribbean due to the increase in the number of sargasses, they attribute the phenomenon to climate change

In 2018, Quintana Roo State hotels have invested more than $ 50,000 a month to fight against algae. This year, the arrival of an amount five times higher is expected.

Sargbadum seems to have come to settle on the beaches of the Mexican Caribbean. Since 2014, increasing amounts of brown seaweed and unpleasant odors have begun to accumulate in seaside resorts such as Cancun, Playa del Carmen and Tulum. According to experts, the phenomenon is a direct consequence of climate change and represents a real threat to the local economy.

According to the oceanography professor at the South Florida School of Ocean Science, Chuanmin Hu, it is likely that the arrival of Sargbadum will not stop in the short term. "Due to global climate change, it is possible that we have increased the outcrop, air intake, or nutrient sources of the rivers." The three factors may have increased the presence algae, "he said.

In accordance with Hu's explanation, various scientific studies have linked this phenomenon with the increase in seawater temperature and releases of organic waste material into the rivers of American countries. Central. In this sense, the state government of Quintana Roo, one of the most affected, said that "it is one of the biggest challenges facing the world with the following climate change ".

With the transformation of the white sands and turquoise waters of the Mexican Caribbean into a vast smelly ocher strip, sargbado has thwarted the economy of many holiday resorts in Quintana Roo. According to the Institute of Ocean Sciences and Limnology (ICMyL) of the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), in 2018, hotels had to invest $ 57,798 per month for cleaning beaches.

Unfortunately, projections for 2019 are not encouraging. The technical director of the Sargbado Surveillance Network in Cancún, Esteban Amaro, predicted the arrival of 800,000 to 1 million tons on the country's coast, nearly five times more than the 170,000 recorded at the coast. ;last year. Thus, in overpopulated stations such as Tulum, large amounts of algae can already be seen on and off the sand, where they can cover areas greater than 400 square meters.

Source: TN (EB)