In May 2011 sargassum was found near Brazil, far South of the Sargasso sea. By September 2011 it had spread from there to the coast of Africa.
This huge band of sargassum kept growing and scientists were puzzled as to why.
In June 2018, scientists recorded 20 million metric tons of seaweed, a 1,000% increase compared with the 2011 bloom for that month.
More than 24 million tons of sargassum covered the Atlantic in June 2022, according to the University of South Florida’s Optical Oceanography Lab, this beat the record, set in 2018, by 20%.
It had increased from 18.8 million tons in May 2022.
It now spans thousands of miles along the Caribbean coastline.
While they don’t know exactly what caused it to suddenly appear in such great amounts, scientists suggested it could be due to increase of water temperatures as a result of climate change and nitrogen-heavy fertilisers and sewage waste.
