In recent years, algae has become a real problem for resorts throughout the Caribbean coast of Mexico. The experience of past years shows that there can be a lot of algae on the beaches at any time of the year. But a certain seasonal pattern can still be traced. There is the least or even almost no algae in winter, most of all — during the summer months. Sometimes the algae begins to arrive on Mexican beaches relatively late, only in June, while in other years there is a lot of it already in April-May.
It is difficult to predict the appearance of algae. Today there are none on a particular beach, but tomorrow, on the contrary, there will be a lot of them. Unlike previous years, this year, even during the summer peak, algae does not arrive on the beaches constantly, but in waves. They are removed, and after some time they appear again. If you don’t have time to remove it, the algae accumulates, rots, gives off an unpleasant odor and turns the water brown.
When going to a beach, check if there is algae on it. There is a new resource for thisObservatorio Sargazo. This site uses Google maps and shows the presence of sargassum seaweed on every beach on Mexico's Caribbean coast, from Holbox Island in the north to Xcalac in the south. The site uses markers in 5 colors: blue — no algae, green — little algae, yellow — moderate amount of algae, orange — a lot of algae, red — there is too much algae. Data is updated daily.
In particular, at the time of writing, in the state of Quinatana Roo, excessive amounts of algae were observed only in the far south, on the border with Belize, while a week ago there were beaches heavily polluted with algae in both Playa del Carmen and Tulum. Cancun beaches traditionally have little algae.
Overall, predictions of less Sargassum seaweed on Mexican beaches this year compared to previous years are correct. A massive arrival of algae on the coasts of the Caribbean countries has been observed since 2011. But just this year, the amount of algae in the ocean in July decreased compared to June. Satellite images from the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) show that the «carpet» of algae in the Atlantic Ocean dropped to 830 square kilometers in July 2020, down from 920 square kilometers the month before. In previous years, the size of the «carpet» continued to grow monthly until August.
At the same time, environmentalists say that the current decline in the amount of algae in the ocean does not mean that the season is coming to an end. The amount of algae begins to increase in April, the peak of arrival on the coast occurs in July-August, after which it begins to decline towards winter. This year the summer peak will not be as pronounced, however, the season itself may last longer. In general, the situation will be very similar to that in 2019.
Across all Atlantic regions, the total amount of sargassum seaweed decreased from 12.6 million tons in June to 8 million tons in July 2020. This is less than in July 2015, 2018 and 2019. How much of this amount of algae will arrive on Mexican beaches is impossible to predict. Let's hope that the efforts made by the Mexican government and hotels to combat algae on the beaches will pay off.