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Riviera Maya and Cozumel · NOAA satellite data of Mon 5 Oct 2026
Sargassum in Riviera Maya and Cozumel tomorrow
Medium at 21 beaches. Medium or high: Playa Akumal, Amansala Beach, Playa Ancha, Playa Caracol, Playa Paraiso and Playa Tortugas and more.
Beach by beach
| Beach | Faces | Sargassum | Sea tomorrow |
|---|---|---|---|
| Amansala Beach Akumal and Tulum | ESE | Medium | Choppy |
| Kanai, Riviera Maya Playa del Carmen and Puerto Morelos | SSE | Medium | Light chop |
| Mezcalitos Beach Cozumel | SE | Medium | Choppy |
| Mr Sanchos Cozumel | W | Medium | Calm |
| Oriente Beach Cozumel | SE | Medium | Choppy |
| Parque de los Sueños Cancún and Isla Mujeres | SW | Medium | Calm |
| Plage Taco Arte Cancún and Isla Mujeres | SSE | Medium | Light chop |
| Playa Akumal Akumal and Tulum | SE | Medium | Choppy |
| Playa Ancha Cancún and Isla Mujeres | NNW | Medium | Calm |
| Playa Caletita Cozumel | WNW | Medium | Calm |
| Playa Caracol Cancún and Isla Mujeres | NNE | Medium | Calm |
| Playa El Niño Cancún and Isla Mujeres | ESE | Medium | Light chop |
| Playa Langosta Cancún and Isla Mujeres | N | Medium | Calm |
| Playa Las Perlas Cancún and Isla Mujeres | NE | Medium | Calm |
| Playa Mia Cozumel | WNW | Medium | Calm |
| Playa Palancar Cozumel | W | Medium | Calm |
| Playa Paradise Cozumel | WNW | Medium | Calm |
| Playa Paraiso Akumal and Tulum | ESE | Medium | Choppy |
| Playa San Juan Cozumel | NW | Medium | Calm |
| Playa Tortugas Cancún and Isla Mujeres | NE | Medium | Calm |
| Xcalacoco Playa del Carmen and Puerto Morelos | SE | Medium NOAA: warning | Light chop |
Sargassum: NOAA's class for the stretch of coast nearest the beach, data of Mon 5 Oct 2026. Sea: our rating from the wind and wave forecast.
Is there seaweed in Riviera Maya and Cozumel tomorrow?
Tomorrow, NOAA's satellite risk for Riviera Maya and Cozumel is medium at 21 beaches (data of Mon 5 Oct 2026). The mainland coast faces east, straight into the trade wind, but the Mesoamerican reef a few hundred metres out takes the swell, so most beaches have small waves. Cancún's hotel zone faces the open sea and gets more waves than Playa del Carmen. Cozumel's west coast is in the island's lee and is usually flat; its east coast takes the full wind. Sargassum seaweed arrives on the east-facing beaches from spring to autumn.
Tomorrow: 12 of the 12 beaches facing the east half of the compass (north-east to south-east) and 9 of the 9 facing the west half have a medium or high risk. Sargassum drifts in from the open Atlantic on the trade wind and the current, so a coast that faces east usually gets it first; NOAA's risk is worked out from the seaweed within 50–100 km of each stretch of coast and does not know which way a beach faces.
Mexico's Red de Monitoreo del Sargazo de Quintana Roo posts a daily traffic light per stretch of beach, from people on the ground.
The last two weeks
Beaches per risk level, per NOAA satellite file.
| Day | Low | Medium | High | Worst |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mon 5 Oct | 21 | Medium | ||
| Sun 4 Oct | 5 | 16 | High | |
| Sat 3 Oct | 12 | 9 | High | |
| Fri 2 Oct | 12 | 9 | High | |
| Thu 1 Oct | 12 | 9 | High | |
| Wed 30 Sep | 12 | 9 | High | |
| Tue 29 Sep | 20 | 1 | High | |
| Mon 28 Sep | 20 | 1 | High | |
| Sun 27 Sep | 20 | 1 | High | |
| Sat 26 Sep | 17 | 4 | High | |
| Fri 25 Sep | 10 | 11 | High | |
| Thu 24 Sep | 6 | 15 | High | |
| Wed 23 Sep | 5 | 16 | High | |
| Tue 22 Sep | 5 | 16 | High |
How to read NOAA's risk
NOAA's Sargassum Inundation Risk is an experimental product of NOAA/AOML, NOAA CoastWatch/OceanWatch and the University of South Florida. Every day it compares the floating seaweed that satellites see within 50–100 km of each stretch of coast with the weeks before, and gives the stretch one of four classes. We show them as three words:
- Low (NOAA: low): little or no seaweed near this coast.
- Medium (NOAA: warning or medium): seaweed at sea nearby; some may wash up, depending on wind and current.
- High (NOAA: high): a lot of seaweed nearby; expect it on the beach and brown water at the edge.
- No data: clouds or no coast segment near the beach; we do not guess.
What it cannot tell you: whether a hotel cleaned its beach this morning, or a raft that arrived overnight. It looks at stretches of coast of a few kilometres, not at one beach. Seaweed on the beach is not dangerous to touch, but rotting piles give off hydrogen sulphide (the smell of rotten eggs), which can bother people with asthma.
Which beach in Riviera Maya and Cozumel tomorrow · Sargassum in other places · Is the water clean?