An alarming phenomenon in the world’s oceans is causing concern among scientists. An immense brown algae belt, stretching 8,850 kilometres from the Atlantic Ocean to the Gulf of Mexico, has been identified as the Great Atlantic Sargassum Belt (GASB).

This is not just a patch of seaweed but a colossal 37.5 million-ton ‘algal monster’ visible from space, posing a serious threat to marine ecosystems and human life alike.

First detected in 2011, the belt has doubled in size annually, and its current width rivals that of the entire American continent.

Sargassum is a type of floating seaweed once restricted to the Sargasso Sea, where it provided a natural habitat for small marine creatures and fish. The problem arose when it broke free of its traditional boundaries and began spreading rapidly

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