The dirtiest river in the world is the Citarum. The dirtiest river in the world. The dirtiest rivers in Russia Indonesia is a garbage river

Technological progress does not spare nature. People are too accustomed to a comfortable existence and rarely think about the harm that is constantly being done to our common house. Every second, dozens of tons of garbage are thrown around the world, industry poisons nature with hazardous waste, and plastic and other artificial materials are even more widely used. Especially clearly the surrounding nature can be seen in the example of rivers. Historically, settlements were founded near them, they were used as shipping channels and sources drinking water. Despite their importance in human life, there are many examples barbaric attitude to the rivers. This ranking includes dirtiest rivers in the world.

10. King (Tasmania, Australia)

The fate of this river changed with the discovery of the Copper Mine on its banks in the first half of the 19th century. During this time, from the largest source of fresh water in Tasmania, it has turned into a real swamp and for this reason is one of the ten most polluted rivers in the world. Moreover, almost all animals die from contact with its yellow water. There is nothing royal left in the river, the old name today sounds like a mockery of nature. Every year, the Copper Mine poisons the river with sulfides in huge quantities. Approximately half a million tons of waste gets there with the rains, often due to the large amount of harmful substances. In total, over 100 million tons of sulphides entered the river, as well as a large number of other hazardous compounds.

9. Sarno (Italy)

The activity of people has led to the fact that this river is called the dirtiest in Europe. This happened due to the fault of agricultural enterprises. Dozens of such objects constantly release waste containing various harmful substances into it. They are not stopped even by the fact that the river flows into the Gulf of Naples. It is one of the most visited places in Italy and its poisoning could harm thousands of tourists. Hundreds of organizations are fighting for the cleanliness of the Sarno River, and the authorities are making serious efforts to resolve this situation.

8. Marilao (Philippines)

In previous cases, pollution was caused by the activities of industrial facilities. Near the Marilao River there are also about a hundred factories that poison it. Due to the large number of various sources of pollution, hundreds of tons of substances from the entire periodic table enter the water every year. The situation is aggravated by the fact that the local population actually uses the river instead of a trash can. All waste is simply dumped along the banks of the river.

7. Huang He, "Yellow River" (China)

This river is one of the largest in the world and serves as a source of drinking water for much of Northern China. Despite this, many businesses and settlements are constantly poisoning her. The level of pollution of the Yellow River is quite high, which makes it one of the dirtiest rivers in the world. Heavy metals, oil industry waste and other harmful substances are found in it in such large quantities that this water is not suitable for some production facilities. The situation is aggravated by the fact that impurities from the erosion of local soils are constantly present in the river. Because of them, the water has a yellow color. The number of people poisoned by drinking water from this river is in the thousands.

6. Mississippi (United States of America)

America occupies one of the leading places in terms of development and is a fully formed state. But at the same time, the ecological situation in it, in some places, is more similar to the situation in rapidly developing countries. The Mississippi River is a clear illustration of this. The amount of municipal, industrial and agricultural waste in it is so great that “dead zones” are formed in places. Water from them cannot be used in any way, even for industrial needs. Not to mention bathing, fishing or drinking it. Dozens of organizations are fighting to protect the river from pollution, but this does not bring visible results. Therefore, the Mississippi ranks 6th in the ranking of the dirtiest rivers on the planet.

5. Yangtze (China)

The Chinese are known for their neglect of the environment. The Yangtze River is a prime example of this. The water in it usually has a dark gray color. But at times, due to hazardous waste emissions, it takes on shades of almost any color, which the locals are no longer surprised at. In 2012, the river temporarily turned blood red. The length of its channel is the longest among the rivers throughout Eurasia. Therefore, about 20 thousand industrial facilities. Almost all of them get rid of waste with the help of the river, without bothering to install filters or treatment facilities.

4. Jamna, "Yamuna" (India)

The Jumna is one of the dirtiest rivers in India. This is largely due to the fact that for most people living in the capital, it is the only way to get rid of waste. Many enterprises and factories also contribute. The state spends huge amounts on attempts to clean up the river, but the large amount of harmful substances that come in greatly hinders this. Simply put, this river has turned into one big trash can for a huge city.

3. Buriganga (Bangladesh)

Water of an incomprehensible shade, from which a strong smell reeks from afar, heaps of plastic garbage and the absence of signs of any living creatures nearby - this is what the Buriganga River looks like. This does not alarm the local population, who manages to wash and wash their things in such conditions. The river is officially declared dead, since only the simplest can survive in it. I think that this is a good reason to place the Buriganga on the 3rd line in the ranking of the dirtiest rivers in the world. Every year, dozens of tons of garbage are dumped into it, and the bottom is mostly covered with a layer of dangerous and long-decomposing substances. The sheer volume of pollution and the lack of understanding from industry and locals is preventing the authorities from fixing the problem.

2. Ganges (India)

If in other cases the local population tries to limit contact with polluted water as much as possible, then here they climb into it themselves. This is due to the old superstition that bathing in this river relieves all diseases. If you cynically look at the result of contact with water, then we can say that this custom today works one hundred percent. A huge amount of pathogenic microbes, toxins and heavy metals can kill a person who plunges into the river for a moment. Official figures indicate that about one and a half million people die every year from this "healing" procedure. This statistic does not stop new applicants.

1. Chitarum (Java Island)

The first, far from honorable place in the ranking belongs to the Tsitarum River, which means that it dirtiest river in the world. The number of various wastes in it is so great that in some places it becomes unclear whether there is water in it. From the side, the river looks like just a large stream of garbage moving sluggishly in one direction. Such volumes of pollution arose due to the large concentration of industrial facilities on its shore. There are about five hundred textile, plastic and other plants and factories per 300 kilometers of the channel.

It is also worth noting that there are much more than a dozen heavily polluted rivers on our planet. For example, through the Argentine capital of Buenos Aires, the Matanza River flows. Its waters contain a high concentration of toluene and other harmful chemicals. This river is officially recognized as the site of an ecological disaster. The most polluted rivers in the world include the sacred Jordan River, located in Israel. Swimming in it is prohibited by the country's Ministry of Health. This is because the waters of the river are used by many enterprises, including agricultural ones, and therefore it contains a high content of toxic waste hazardous to human health.

The dirtiest river in the world | Video

The water arteries of our country mainly suffer from pollution by oil products, metal compounds and organic substances containing nitrogen. The main role in this is played by the effluents of industrial enterprises, as well as waste from agriculture and utilities. AT recent times increased damage due to secondary pollution. So, the dirtiest rivers in Russia. Top 10:

The tenth place in our rating is occupied by the Siberian river Tom. In the area of ​​this river, practically no measures are taken to improve the environmental situation.
Mass extinction of fish, mountains of garbage on the shores, oil slicks and a bad smell from the water - this is an incomplete picture of the impact of human hands on nature.

The ninth place is occupied by the Oka River, the ecological condition of which is deteriorating every year. The most polluted area at the confluence of the Moscow River.

Eighth place is at the Pechora River, which originated in the Urals, which is exposed not only to emissions of chemical waste and household garbage. The gas pipeline, which crosses many of its tributaries, has a negative impact on the ecology of the river.

The seventh place is occupied by the Lena River, the main sources of pollution of which are gold and diamond mining enterprises. Vessels and objects of the river fleet play an important role in this.

Iset, which ranks sixth in our rating, is another Siberian water artery that has been blacklisted by environmentalists. Extremely high pollution with manganese, copper and products of the oil industry is noted here. Often, there is a massive discharge of sewage and household waste into the river.

savings program water resources Kama, which is in fifth place in the ranking the dirtiest rivers in Russia held in last years, allowed to slightly reduce the position of this rating. However, the situation is still dire.

The origins of the Irtysh, which is ranked fourth in our rating, are in China, a country with, to put it mildly, a disregard for rivers. Several Chinese rivers are considered the most polluted in the world. Further, collecting hazardous waste in Kazakhstan, the waters of the river come to the territory of Russia already in a deplorable state. We add garbage, nitrogen-containing substances, heavy metals and oil products to this “hellish mixture”.

Far from honorable, the third place is occupied by the Yenisei, which runs through the whole of Siberia. The main source of pollution of the Yenisei is sewage waste from large Siberian cities. Compounds of iron, zinc and copper, oil products are also typical for the waters of this river.

Ob firmly occupies the second place among the leaders the dirtiest rivers in Russia. The main supplier of pollution is its tributaries the Irtysh and Tobol, in the "purity" of the waters of which Kazakhstan makes a considerable contribution. Adding to this the industrial waste of Siberian metallurgical and oil refineries, we got one of the most polluted rivers.

Superiority in this list is occupied by our Mother Volga. 38% of all wastewater in Russia is discharged into this river. The average annual toxic load on the river ecosystem is 5 times higher than in other regions of the country. The reservoirs located on the Volga receive huge amounts of oil products, copper and iron compounds, and organic matter.

Video:

It has long been no secret that most human activities have a destructive effect on the environment. For the desire to live in comfortable conditions humanity is paying with dirty air and poisoned water bodies. It is regrettable, but over the past hundred years, marked by an unprecedented rise in various areas of production, people have destroyed more natural resources than in the entire previous history of its existence. Today we invite you on a virtual tour of the dirtiest river on the planet that you can imagine - the Citarum River, which flows in the west.

Citarum River, Indonesia

It's hard to believe, but just half a century ago, no one would have dared to call the Citarum River the dirtiest in the world. She calmly carried her waters through the territory of West Java, being a source of livelihood for all the surrounding inhabitants. The main way for the local population to earn a living was fishing and growing rice, the water for which also came from Citarum. The river was so full-flowing that on Lake Saguling, which it feeds, French engineers were even able to build the largest hydroelectric power station.

But the rise of industry that came in the 80s of the last century put an end to the ecological well-being of the entire Tsitarum river basin. More than 500 different industrial enterprises appeared on the banks of the river like mushrooms after the rain, each of which sends all its waste directly into the river.

Despite the fairly rapid development of industry, in terms of sanitary conditions, Indonesia has been and remains at the lowest level. Therefore, here we are not even talking about centralized removal and disposal of household waste, or about laying sewers and building treatment facilities. All of them indiscriminately go into the waters of the Citarum River.

Today, the state of the Citarum River can be called critical without any exaggeration. An unprepared person today is unlikely to be able to guess that a river is hiding under piles of all sorts of rubbish. Only light boats slowly sailing through huge heaps of rotting waste can suggest that there is water below.

Given the circumstances, most of the local residents changed their specialization. Now the main source of income for them is not fishing, but objects thrown into the river. Every morning, local men and teenagers go to the floating dump, hoping that their catch will be successful, and the things found can be washed and sold. Sometimes they are lucky, and scavenger hunts bring in about 1.5-2 pounds a week. In most cases, the search for treasure leads to severe illness, and often to the death of the miner.

But even those of the locals who can afford not to collect waste are not entirely immune from the risk of getting sick. The thing is that despite the off-scale content of harmful substances, Citarum, as before, remains the only source of drinking water for all the surrounding settlements. That is, local residents are forced to cook food and drink water almost from the garbage heap.

More than 5 years ago, the Asian Development Bank allocated more than 500 million North American dollars to clean up the Citarum. But, despite such a powerful monetary infusion, the banks of the Citarum are still hidden under piles of garbage to this day. Ecologists foretell that in the near future the garbage will so shallow the river that the power plant that feeds from it will also stop working. Perhaps then, after the closure of the enterprises standing on the banks of the Citarum, the situation will improve at least a little.

When you look at these pictures depicting the rivers killed by man, you understand that the pollution of nature can bring death to mankind!

Marilao River, Philippines

Marilao is one of the 50 dead rivers in the Philippines. Industrial effluents from numerous industrial enterprises and garbage thrown into the water by 250 thousand inhabitants living on its banks have killed all life in the river. Today, Greenpeace launched a campaign to save Marilao, but the Philippine government, alas, is not interested in this problem yet.

Han River, China

The Han River today is completely covered with a layer of algae due to severe water pollution from industrial waste.

Yamuna River, India

Yamuna is one of the sacred rivers of India and the main source of drinking water for the city of New Delhi. But the residents and municipal authorities of New Delhi do not seem to care: 58% of the city's sewage discharge goes straight to the Yamuna. Anything can be found in its waters, from dead bodies to toxic impurities and household garbage. The Indian authorities recognize the problem, but do not take any effective measures.

Citarum River, Indonesia

This river is officially recognized as the dirtiest on the planet. More than 5 million people live on its shores, and about 50 thousand of them die every year due to its pollution. The most annoying thing is that the main source of pollution is household waste, which residents habitually dump into the water. To date, according to experts, about 6 million tons of garbage have accumulated in the waters of Citarum.

Huangpu River, China

Huangpu is the main source of drinking water for Shanghai. At the same time, the waters of the river are full of household garbage and toxic chemicals. The residents of Shanghai seem to have become accustomed to this. However, an incident in 2013 shocked even them. Then local farmers dumped 16,000 dead pigs into Huangpu. True, when the wave of indignation subsided, everything remained the same.

Niger River, Nigeria

The Niger Delta is the main place for Nigerian oil production and at the same time the most oil-polluted river delta in the world. Up to 240,000 barrels of oil are dumped into the Niger Delta every year. For 25 years, from 1976 to 2001, real ecological disasters associated with large emissions of petroleum products into the Niger Delta. However, the country's government is more concerned about oil production than the environment.

Pasig River, Philippines

The locals have been walking along the Pasig River for a long time, like dry land. But this is not a miracle, but the result of the fact that Filipinos living on the banks of Pasig massively dump household garbage into the water. Every day, about 1,500 tons (!) of household waste enters Pasig.

Red River, China

The Red River is located in Wenzhou, China. True, it received its name quite recently. The waters of the river turned red in 2014 when an unknown chemical dye was dumped here by a local business. Over the past two years, the authorities have not been able to find the culprit, the water of the river, which used to be a source of drinking water for hundreds of thousands of people, has not regained its original color, and the new name of the river has already become familiar to local residents and, it seems, will remain with her forever.

Ganges River, India

The Ganges River is the largest and most sacred river in India. In the waters of the Ganges, numerous religious ceremonies are performed every day, including funerals, during which the body of the deceased is simply released to float on the sacred waters of the Ganges. After that, the Hindus without embarrassment take a bath in the Ganges, bathe and even drink from the river!

Mississippi, USA

The Mississippi has always been considered America's most iconic river. But today it is also the dirtiest in the United States. And all thanks to industrial effluents. In 2010, US industrial companies dumped 12.7 million tons of toxic chemicals into Mississippi waters. And in 2014, General Electric finished the job by dumping 31,000 gallons of crude oil into Mississippi. So today swimming in Mississippi is strongly discouraged.

Lakes of Rajasthan, India

The lake system of Rajasthan - Jal Mahal, Jaisamand and Udaisagar lakes - is considered the dirtiest lake system in the world. Factories located on the shores of lakes have been dumping garbage into them for decades and draining drains contaminated with toxic chemicals. Director of the Indian Study Center environment Sunita Narain is sounding the alarm, stating that pollution of the lakes threatens the nature of India as a whole. But while the lakes covered with garbage remain an ulcer on the body of the Earth.

Rivers of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

The whole world was horrified to learn about the monstrous level of pollution in the water basin of Rio de Janeiro on the eve of the 2016 Olympic Games. Water athletes spoke with indignation about rowing competitions in monstrously dirty water, which the country's authorities did not have time to clean up for the Olympics. But even after the Games, nothing has changed. Rio's industries continue to dump waste into the city's rivers, and Brazilian federal law does not allow for adequate punishment of those responsible. Tens of thousands of fish that surfaced belly up have long become a familiar part of the local landscape.

Cuyahoga River, Ohio, USA

The Cuyahoga River in industrial Cleveland was one of the first in the world to experience all the environmental "charms" of industrialization. Its pollution by industrial effluents has been going on since the beginning of the 20th century. In 1969, a factory burned down on the river bank, after which the water condition deteriorated sharply. During this time, more than a dozen species of aquatic life have become extinct in Cuyahoga.

Matanza Riachuelo, Argentina

Seven million people living on the banks of the Matanza-Riachuelo River in Argentina are constantly experiencing health problems. But industrialists do not care: enterprises located on the banks of the river dump poisonous effluents directly into the river. In fairness, it should be noted that the inhabitants of the surrounding areas also contribute to the pollution of the river with household waste. As a result, about 3 million cubic meters of dirt enter Matanza Riachuelo every day - from chemical industrial waste to household garbage.

Jinghe River, China

Familiar sight, right? But this is not the Red River, but the Bloody River. Its official name is Jinghe, but the locals have not called it that for a long time - since the local factory for the production of New Year's decorations and fireworks began to drain industrial effluents containing dyes in Jinghe. The most incredible thing is that government agencies stubbornly declare that the water in the river is clean enough, and its color is simply not worth paying attention to.

The Citarum River, referred to as the dirtiest river in the world, yes, yes, there are the cleanest, deepest rivers, and in this article we will look and talk about the most polluted river on the planet. The famous river Citarum is located in the small province of West Java, on the island of Java. ( 11 photos of the dirtiest river).

Agree not the most desired status of the heroine of our today's article. But it has already happened that a dirtier place, or rather a river, was not found on our entire non-voluminous Earth. Just look at this photo, it seems that there is no water here at all, only a solid carpet of garbage, as if this is not a river at all, but another dump.

Small settlements are located on the banks of this river, of course you cannot call them rich. So far, these are the only people who are somehow engaged in cleaning the local waters from piles of garbage. The fact is that the only way to exist is to work on the river Citarum. Every day they get into boats and go along the river, in search of everything they can find and then sell. There is no waste recycling plant anywhere in the vicinity.

This means that the resident sells everything found as a once-used product. Well, what do they manage to find in such a dump, some kind of gloves, maybe shoes, spare parts for upholstered furniture, yet someone will need chair legs, and other things like that. Of course, the profit from such work cannot be great, the maximum that a local resident manages to gain is no more than 2-4 feet a day, this is negligible, but they work for the good of nature, and such work is priceless.

The population of the province, in which the dirtiest river flows, is no more than 45 thousand permanent residents. The Tsitarum River is very small, the width of the river reaches a maximum of 10 meters and the depth is even less, about 5 meters in the basin, but the length of the river reaches 300 km. And for the entire length of the river, we see only garbage and nothing more, this is a breathtaking sight. The dirtiest river in the world is the Citarum.

We can observe the result of careless human activity in this photo. More than 5 million people live at the source of the Citarum River, and several large industrial plants. Despite the fact that we fly into space, and in the yard for the 21st century, for some reason people are used to throwing garbage where they live. All sewers, industrial waste from enterprises, everything that a person no longer needs will certainly fall into this river.

Once, as in other rivers familiar to us, fish went here in schools, birds sang trills and picturesque gardens bloomed on the banks, and now we see only plastic bottles and other rubbish. And the fish has not been found in these parts for a long time, only occasionally there are representatives of fish swimming in a non-standard position, belly up. Man literally ruined the entire local fauna, and only bacteria can exist in such an environment.

We all know that any abandoned landfill inevitably becomes a hotbed of infection and disease, and what can we say about a trash can in the water, where all processes proceed many times faster. Every day people expose themselves to the threat of some kind of disease. Everything would be fine, but the waters of Citarum feed the coastal waters, automatically infecting and destroying all life in the area for tens of kilometers! In this way dirtiest river in the world turns into the most dangerous river of the Earth.

And it all started in the 1980s, from the time of centralization, then large factory enterprises were built. But everything depends on this river Agriculture in the local areas. The local hydroelectric power station also depends on the Tsitarum River, the management of which is seriously concerned about the further existence of the station, the fact is that the amount of garbage that is in the river significantly interferes with the normal operation of the hydroelectric power station.

Although certain funds have already been allocated for water purification in the river, no significant results are yet to be seen. In 2008, the Asian Development Bank allocated $500 million to clean up the Citarum River from debris. The mouth of the dirtiest river in the world flows into the inter-island sea Pacific Ocean- Java Sea.

This is what the dirtiest river in the world, the Citarum River looks like. We still hope for the near restoration of the ecology of the river. Stay with us and enjoy your travel experiences.

It is also worth looking at -,.