Barbadians told to be prepared for long drought and hot season

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Black Immigrant Daily News

The content originally appeared on: Caribbean News Service

The Director of the Barbados Meteorological Service (BMS), Sabu Best, is warning Barbadians that they should be prepared for a long drought period given that “there is not going to be any rainfall that is going to be coming in anytime soon”.

Best said that over the past couple of weeks, there has been a “significant reduction in rainfall across the island” and that the dry conditions, dry air, and abundance of sunshine “is actually leading to a lot of drying out of the top soils across the island, and a lot of areas are actually turning brown in fields and cane fields…”

“So, I know a lot of residents have noticed a lot of cane fires or grass fires that have been going on in the past few days,” he said, and that some of those fires actually last for a “good few hours” and even days.

“We expect that these kind of conditions are going to continue into March and into April with the dry conditions,” he said, warning the population that “there is not going to be any rainfall that is going to be coming in anytime soon.

“And so I just want all Barbadians to be aware that you can expect to see the possibility of more fires in the days to come and just be ready and be prepared. This is not an uncommon thing to actually happen during the dry season,” he said, adding that “the number of fires is probably unprecedented and also the duration of the fires.

“So, our best advice to all the public out there is just to be aware that these things are going to happen in the next few weeks, and the possibility, and just be ready. For those who have respiratory challenges, just walk with the necessary medications and take the necessary precautions to protect yourself over the next few weeks,” Best added.

He said the forecast for the future “is basically, like I said, March is going to be really dry.

“We are going to see a slight increase in April, in terms of precipitation, and more so in May, especially going into the ending part of May, and we should have a lot more relief in the early part of June as well,” the BMS director said.

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Large mass of seaweed threatens Caribbean tourism

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Black Immigrant Daily News

The content originally appeared on: Caribbean News Service

A massive collection of seaweed that is said to have grown in the Atlantic Ocean is making its way toward Florida’s shores and other Gulf of Mexico coastlines, potentially depositing deadly masses over beaches and significantly affecting the summer travel season.

It is said that the seaweed, a variety called sargassum, has long generated substantial blooms in the Atlantic.

According to reports, scientists have been monitoring significant accumulations since 2011, but this year’s sargassum mass spans more than 5,000 miles from the coast of Africa to the Gulf of Mexico.

Reports say it could be the largest on record.

According to Dr. Brian Lapointe, a researcher at Florida Atlantic University’s Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute, the blob is currently pushing west and will pass through the Caribbean and up into the Gulf of Mexico during the summer.

He said that the seaweed is expected to become prevalent on beaches in Florida around July.

He further mentioned that in Barbados, locals were clearing the beaches of seaweed using 1,600 dump trucks per day to make them suitable for tourists and recreation on the beaches.

He also noted that this new phenomenon of the ocean is harming tourism in the Caribbean where it accumulates on beaches up to 5 or 6 feet deep.

Lapointe said that the sargassum bloom this year started to emerge early and doubled in size between December and January, adding that it was greater in January than it has ever been since this new zone of sargassum development began in 2011.

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UN: Fresh gang violence in Haiti leaves 187 dead in 11 days

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Black Immigrant Daily News

The content originally appeared on: Caribbean News Service

New clashes between gangs in Haiti’s capital and beyond have killed at least 187 people in less than two weeks and injured more than 150 others, the UN said Tuesday.

The fresh wave of violence recorded between February 27 and March 9 in the capital, Port-au-Prince, and in the central region of Artibonite also has displaced hundreds of people and forced farmers to abandon fields as starvation worsens, officials said.

“The situation is all the more alarming for children, who are often subjected to all forms of armed violence, including forced recruitment and sexual violence,” the UN in Haiti said.

The surge of violence in central Haiti has been largely blamed on a gang called “Baz Gran Grif,” which roughly translates to “Big Claw Crew.”

In addition, nearly 260 kidnappings have been reported since the start of the year, with people abducted from their homes or public places, officials said.

Gangs have grown more powerful since the July 2021 assassination of President Jovenel Mo?se, and already control an estimated 60 per cent of Port-au-Prince. They also have been clashing in the central towns of Petite Riviere de l’Artibonite, Verrettes, Estere and Liancourt.

Prime Minister Ariel Henry last week signalled that he is seeking to mobilise Haiti’s military to help an under-resourced and understaffed police department fight the unrelenting gang violence, which has forced an increasing number of schools and businesses to shutter.

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