The Eastern Caribbean is projected to experience mostly mild sargassum conditions in the coming three months, as stated in the Sargassum Sub-Regional Outlook Bulletin of July 2023.
The bulletin was issued by the UWI Centre for Resource Management and Environment Studies, Cave Hill, Barbados.
Sargassum presence in 2023 vs 2022
According to the bulletin reports, there is a substantial decrease in the amount of sargassum compared to earlier in the year when record-high levels were observed in the middle and northern islands.
This presents the Eastern Caribbean islands with a summer season that is currently seeing below-average sargassum occurrences.
In the next few months, the overall forecast is predominantly for mild or clear conditions. Compared to the same period last year, there is an 8 per cent decrease in the visible sargassum quantities in the Atlantic.
The expectation for the summer includes all Eastern Caribbean islands receiving mild to moderate levels of sargassum.
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Sargassum’s impact on northern and southern islands
After a year characterized by significant sargassum presence, the northern islands are expected to have a breather. The forecast suggests they will experience mild, ongoing sargassum inundations, comparable to the events around this time the previous year.
Meanwhile, It was predicted that the southern islands would have moderate sargassum influxes throughout July, transitioning to very low, infrequent sargassum events until October.
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