December, as usual, brings us its share of festivities and blessings. However, on the Atlantic coast, December once again means the arrival of waves of Sargassum. Once this seaweed washes ashore, it piles up and forms foul-smelling heaps that release toxic gases, causing distress to local residents and polluting the coastline.
Caused by the return of the trade winds, this proliferation of seaweed—which our elders used to see only occasionally—appears to be much more widespread today. In Pointe Savane, a neighborhood in the town of Le Robert, residents have had enough. They are concerned and are wondering about the damage that sargassum might cause not only to their health but also to their electrical appliances.
France-Antilles, December 23, 2017
