Sun sets on Mexico's paradise beaches as climate crisis hits home

Rising sea levels and fierce storms threaten Quintana Roo's coastline, and with it the ribbon of beach resorts and timesharesJosé Escalante looks out over the mile of fine, white sand leading up to the Mayan ruins perched on a bluff over the turquoise Caribbean. A few fishing boats have been pulled up on Tulum's Playa Pescadores, one of the world's most photogenic beaches. Tourists pose as the sun fades over the Yucatán peninsula behind them. All seems well in paradise.But Escalante is weary. He is selling the six beachfront hotels he co-owns in this booming Mexican tourist destination and has a long list of reasons why: the increasingly unmanageable quantities of seaweed washing up on the beach, the large chains with few local connections opening restaurants and beach bars, and organised crime, which makes security a worry. Continue reading...