Rivers are the main source of life, as fresh water is critical to the survival of flora and fauna on Earth. However, many rivers are so polluted that they look more like giant floating garbage chutes. According to statistics, 90% of the plastic that enters the oceans comes from rivers.
It's good that the articles do not convey odors, because our rating contains the dirtiest rivers in the world... They are visible evidence of the adverse consequences of a thoughtless attitude towards nature.
10. Volga, Russia
Let's start our anti-rating with a river in our country. It has been ranked first in the list of the dirtiest rivers in Russia for several years now, and this is not an unfounded statement, but the opinion of experts from the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment. It receives about 38% of all Russian polluted wastewater.
In 2018, Rosprirodnadzor surveyed the banks of the Volga with a length of 7,500 km. And experts have found that the biggest contribution to the slow murder of the river is made not by industrial enterprises, but by organizations from the housing sector. The total amount of damage caused to the Volga exceeded 1 billion rubles.
One of longest Russian rivers seriously ill. And the authorities in 2019 plan to allocate 1.7 billion rubles for the implementation of a project to improve it.
9. Matanza or Riachuelo, Argentina
It is the most polluted river in South America. This is due to industrial enterprises, which day after day dump waste water into the river. The main type of pollution is volatile organic compounds, in particular toluene.
In addition, Matanza is unofficially called the "Slaughterhouse River", as there are many tanneries along it. Can you guess where they dump their waste? According to the World Health Organization, people living near the river are twice as likely to get cancer as people in other parts of the country.
8. Buriganga, Bangladesh
For a country that relies heavily on a single river for its livelihood, Bangladesh is too light-hearted (if you choose the softest wording) about the Buriganga River. It is currently the burial ground for all types of pollutants, including industrial and domestic waste, sewage, medical waste, dead animals, plastics, and so on.
About 80% of the wastewater discharged into the river is not treated. The capital Dhaka alone throws 4,500 tons of solid waste into Buriganga every day! No wonder this river is one of the the most toxic water bodies on the planet.
7. Mississippi, USA
The main river of the largest river system in North America has suffered enough human damage to be considered one of the 10 most polluted rivers in the world. Scientists call it one of the most polluted ecosystems on the planet. And the massive "dead zone" in the Gulf of Mexico is a prime example of their rightness.
More than 5.7 million kilograms of toxic chemicals such as polychlorinated biphenyls, mercury, fertilizers, etc., are dumped in Mississippi in just one year. The main pollutants are benzene, mercury and arsenic.
The level of toxins in Mississippi water makes it dangerous not only for animals, but also for the people who consume it.
6. Marilao, Philippines
The millions of people in the Philippines who depend on the Marilao River for drinking and farming are currently at serious health risks from high levels of water pollution.
Most of the pollutants entering the river are waste from tanneries and gold refineries. Much of the river is now a giant dump of inorganic materials such as disposable plastic bags, cans and bottles. And the level of lead in the water is so high that it kills fish.
Similar to the Sarno River in Italy, the Marilao River also tends to flood, causing water pollution to spread to neighboring lands.
5. Huang He, China
This river, whose waters are yellowish, is the place where many businesses dump their waste. A report from the UN Environment Program indicates that 4.29 billion tons of industrial and sewage waste were dumped into the Yellow River in 1996. This makes the Yellow River water too toxic even for agriculture.
However, people still take water from the Yellow River and use it for bathing, drinking and other domestic purposes. It is because of this that in the 9 provinces of China, through which the Yellow River flows, there is an increase in water-borne diseases. Recently, the Chinese authorities have been trying to dissuade the population from drinking water from this river, as it is unsafe for human or animal consumption.
4. Sarno, Italy
It is perhaps the most polluted river on the European continent. The source of Sarno is clean and safe to drink. But as the distance from it increases, the amount of industrial and agricultural waste dumped into the river increases. And all this filth is sent across the Gulf of Naples straight to the Mediterranean Sea.
3. Yangtze, China
One of the largest rivers in the world is also one of the worst when it comes to the highly competitive group of the world's most polluted rivers. A deadly combination of overpopulation (480 million people live in the river basin), a completely consumer-oriented lifestyle and poor waste management have resulted in about 333,000 tons of plastic waste dumped into the East China Sea every year.
2. Ganges, India
The fact that it is the most sacred river in India does not prevent it from being one of the dirtiest on the planet. Moreover, it is the main source of water for 40% of the country's population (which is over 500 million people).
Due to its high content of sewage, chemicals and handicraft waste, Ganges water used for domestic purposes such as drinking, bathing or cooking is life-threatening.
And here you can sometimes see a human corpse. On the banks of the Ganges, bodies are cremated and the ashes are scattered over the water, but many poor Hindus cannot afford the luxury of burning the deceased with wood. Therefore, they confine themselves to setting fire to the raft on which the deceased lies, and letting him go on his last journey along the sacred river.
1. Chintarum, Indonesia
For hundreds of years, this river, which flows near the Indonesian capital Jakarta, has contributed to the development of agriculture and fishing. She was the main source of water supply and even electricity production in West Java.
However, the long-term proximity with 5 million people (approximately the same number of Indonesians live in the Chintarum basin) have left the river in a terrible state. It is overflowing with industrial and household waste dumped into it. Almost every kind of pollutant can be found here, such as plastic products, rubber, glass, metal, paints, chemicals, etc.
In many places in Chintarum, pollution levels are so high that the surface of the water is not visible at all under the layers of debris.
According to the tests carried out, the content of mercury in the river is 100 times higher than the permissible level, and the level of lead is 1000 times. Because of such an unimaginable scale of environmental disaster, the river is considered the dirtiest in the world.
horror! how can a person be so immoral!