Experts in Quintana Roo, Mexico are confident that changing winds and sea currents will limit the amount of sargassum seaweed arriving on the state's tourist-friendly coasts this month.
"From July 23rd, 24th and 25th we had the entrance of the tropical waves 20, 21 and 22 in a consecutive way and we also had the influence of the cold front number 62. Everything was combined resulting in low altitude winds, a jet current that made the winds change so there was an inversion," hydrobiologist and coordinator of The Sargasso Monitoring Network of Cancun, Esteban Amaro Mauricio told The Yucatan Times.
Amaro Mauricio said that recent northwest winds have prevented some of the seaweed from reaching Quintana Roo's most popular beaches and have also helped remove some of it in places north of the Yucatan Peninsula.
In places like Playa del Carmen and Tulum, a series of high tides have also helped to restore the beaches' beloved turquoise blue waters.
"As long as the winds continue with that pattern there won't be a problem. We would have to be observant of the winds very closely. If we see that they change direction, we would have to be alert," he added.
The helpful weather conditions are expected to stick around for the next three weeks at least.
"For October and the last months of 2019 it is possible that the beach events with sargassum in the Caribbean Sea, and in the whole of South Florida, will be reduced with respect to the current and previous months due to the fact that the amount in the Atlantic Ocean has decreased since the beginning of July," NASA and the University of South Florida said in their monthly newsletter.
Mexico's beloved tourist destinations aren't the only places battling the annoying marine algae's overgrowth this summer as Caribbean nations and even South Florida have been impacted. In addition to ongoing clean-up efforts, officials have installed mesh barriers in some places to reduce the effects of the troublesome seaweed.
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