Huge blankets of seaweed are smothering coastlines from the Caribbean to Mexico

Massive blankets of seaweed are smothering coastlines across a region stretching from the Caribbean to Mexico. According to a report released on Friday by the University of South Florida's Optical Oceanography Lab, approximately 27 million metric tons of self-sustaining sargassum were recorded in July across the Atlantic Ocean, the Caribbean, and the Gulf of Mexico.

The accumulation of this seaweed presents a significant environmental issue for the affected coastal areas, heavily impacting shorelines throughout the region. The data was detailed in the latest findings from the university's Optical Oceanography Lab, highlighting the scale of the sargassum presence in these waters.