Overview

• A newly launched Sargassum Monitoring Center using ESA’s Sentinel-2 satellite feeds real-time concentration data to coastal authorities.
• The Mexican Navy has deployed 350 personnel, a dozen small skimmer vessels and the Natans ship to collect over 8,000 tonnes at sea and 50,000 tonnes on beaches since April.
• On July 15, more than 130 workers and agencies cleared 140 tonnes of sargassum from Isla Mujeres in just four hours during an urgent cleanup.
• Experts estimate 50 million metric tonnes of sargassum floating between Africa and the Yucatán this season, more than double the 2018 peak in the region’s cyclical bloom.
• Tourism hubs from Tulum to Cozumel report the steepest visitor decline in a decade, and local businesses are seeking federal relief measures such as suspended park entrance fees.