Playa del Carmen obtained 9,800 fewer tons of sargassum till Could 31, in comparison with the identical timeframe in 2023. Nevertheless, forecasts this 12 months should not too optimistic.
Such a discount was attributed to a number of components, together with low temperatures within the Atlantic Ocean and handy wind patterns.
Solidaridad, the municipality the place Playa del Carmen is situated, was one of the vital affected by the macroalgae.
Whereas there was a major discount of sargassum arriving on Mexican Caribbean shores final 12 months, forecasters consider this season gained’t be the identical, based on their satellite-based observations.
Lourdes Várguez Ocampo, secretary of Setting and Local weather Change, reported that this phenomenon will worsen attributable to excessive temperatures.
“We’re having a robust sargassum arrival. We’re seeing the impact of excessive temperatures. Actually, we’ve recorded the arrival of over 8,000 tons of algae from January thus far [May 31]. This time round is even worse as a result of it’s spreading everywhere in the coast,” Varguez mentioned.
Final 12 months, sargassum season abruptly resulted in September -something unusual-, which made hoteliers and locals consider that 2024 may very well be a greater 12 months for the algae. However nothing may very well be farther from the reality.
Could was troublesome for Playa del Carmen’s maritime group. Climate situations and sargassum pressured the port to shut to small vessels for 12 days.
José Gómez Burgos, President of the Caribbean Sea Nautical Cooperative, mentioned it was brought on by a phenomenon known as “Surada.” At press time, the port is open to ships and fishing actions haven’t been affected.
Nevertheless, an exorbitant arrival of sargassum was noticed on seashores in downtown Playa del Carmen and within the northern space of Solidaridad through the weekend.
Based on the Institute of Oceanography of the Marine Secretariat (Semar), a mass of 216 tons reached the seashores of Mahahual and several other areas of Xcalak. 17 tons of algae reached the waters of Tulum and Playa del Carmen, and 24 the seashores of Sian Ka’an.
Alternatively, the northern seashores, from Puerto Morelos and Cancun to Isla Mujeres, had very low ranges of algae.
Employees on the Federal Marine Terrestrial Zone Directorate (Zofemat) have been finishing up clean-up duties to maintain coasts clear and open for beachgoers.
Toni Chaves, president of the Lodge Affiliation of the Riviera Maya (AHRM), reported that the annual price of sargassum cleanup exceeds $142,6182,500, affecting the competitiveness of the tourism trade.
