Havana/The Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment of Cuba issued a maximum alert on the arrival and concentration of sargasso on the coasts of the Guantanamo province.
In an informative note, the ministry delegation in the province warns that among the consequences of the high concentration of the sargasso are “health hazards due to the emission of toxic gases.”
The statement indicates that sargassum is an algae that when it decomposes liberates sulfide and ammonia acid, which can cause “eye irritation, nose and throat” as well as “headache, nausea and dizziness and respiratory conditions” in people suffering from asthma or allergies.
Likewise, the information details that, when it is in decomposition, the sargazo houses bacteria that can cause skin and gastrointestinal infections, if there is direct contact with the skin or intake of contaminated water.
When it is decomposing, the sargazo houses bacteria that can cause cutaneous and gastrointestinal infections, if there is direct contact with the skin or intake of contaminated water
The Ministry explains that sargasso is a kind of brown algae that lives in marine environments in the tropical areas of the world and that this behavior is related to climate change; Specifically, with the increase in marine temperature, the alterations of the ocean currents and the change of wind patterns with pollution of the oceans (excess nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus).
The statement recalls that in 2018, under similar conditions, there was a record for sargassum arrival on the coast of the Caribbean and warned that this situation can be aggravated in July and August of there of not being an extreme meteorological event, like a tropical cyclone, to dispense the algae.
Before the arrival of Sargazo to several points of the coasts of Guantanamo, such as Baracoa and San Antonio del Sur, the inhabitants of these areas, including students and medical science professors, have made a cleaning day in bath areas such as the pool of the Tortuguilla beach, according to a report by the state Cuban news agency.
After observing, via satellite, a large belt of these algae by advancing through the Atlantic, some scientists have predicted that this year the arrival of sargassum to the Caribbean could exceed the historical maximum of the 522,226 tons of 2018.
