Metallurgical and chemical production, as well as coal mills and other industrial facilities often create a terrifying environmental situation in many cities. In 2007, the North American non-profit scientific and research company Blacksmith Institute created the primary version of the list of the world's dirtiest cities. Gradually, the list of settlements in the list underwent a change, but at the moment there are about sixty cities where the environmental situation is simply unbearable for the local population. This article will present its version of the top 10 most dirty cities in the world, based on data from reputable environmental organizations.
10. Antananarivo, island of Madagascar
The island of Madagascar, which is known for its unique fauna and flora, is often awarded the title of the most environmentally dirty city in the world. Unfortunately, the negative consequences of industrial production and human waste are also evident in Antananarivo.
Relatively cleanliness here is only in some areas for tourists, in other areas of the city garbage is scattered everywhere, which rots and stinks, through which local townspeople and even sometimes tourists who have to visit administrative institutions walk as if nothing had happened.
9. Krasnoyarsk, Russian Federation
Krasnoyarsk is the dirtiest city in the world in terms of air pollution, according to the AirVisua research portal. The Siberian city was included in this list because of the incredibly polluted air. He even went around such traditionally dirty cities as Delhi and Ulaanbaatar. However, the organization only estimates the level of toxicity of air masses without affecting other parameters. Thus, Krasnoyarsk is the dirtiest city in the world according to only one environmental parameter.
8. Norilsk, Russian Federation
This city, which is one of the world's most dirty cities, is located beyond the Arctic Circle. About two hundred thousand people live here. Previously, Norilsk was a prison camp. Here, one of the largest metallurgy plants on the planet was built by the forces of prisoners.
Each year, its pipes emit more than three million tons of toxic chemical compounds with a high content of hazardous metals into the atmosphere. In Norilsk, it often smells of sulfur, black snow falls. It is very surprising that the city, which produces a third of the world's volumes of such a precious metal as platinum, over 35% palladium and about 25% nickel, does not want to provide the necessary finances in order to stop poisoning its citizens. And sadly, they are 5 times more likely to die from respiratory diseases than in other regions of the Russian Federation. The average life expectancy of workers in the Norilsk metallurgy plant is 9 years shorter than the average throughout the Russian Federation. For foreigners, entry into this polar city is closed.
7. Kabwe, Zambia
Near the second most populated city of the Republic of Zambia, which is one hundred and fifty kilometers from the capital, colossal deposits of lead were found by a combination of circumstances that was tragic for the natives.
For about a hundred years, the mining and processing of this metal has been going on at a tremendous pace, and industrial waste is increasingly polluting the soil, rivers and air. Less than nine kilometers from the city, you should not only drink local water, but even just live there and breathe the local air. The concentration of this metal in the body of city dwellers exceeds the permissible norm by eleven times.
6. Pripyat, Ukraine
After the tragically known blast at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, which happened in the eighty-sixth year, a dangerous radiation cloud covered an area of over one hundred thousand square kilometers. A closed exclusion zone was formed in the nuclear disaster area, all residents were evicted, and they were granted official status of the victims. Pripyat in just a few weeks has become a ghost town in which the townspeople have been gone for more than thirty years. In the ordinary sense, this town is a relatively clean place. People and, accordingly, toxic production are not observed here.
Everywhere trees grow, the air is pretty fresh. However, measuring instruments showed tremendous levels of radiation. With a long stay in Pripyat, people can get radiation sickness, which leads to death.
5. Sumgayit, Azerbaijan
This city with a population of almost three hundred thousand people has to suffer from the socialist past of its eastern Caucasian country. Previously, it was a large center for chemical production, which was created by decree of Joseph Stalin himself. Toxic compounds were thrown into the air, including mercury-based substances, waste from the oil industry, and waste from organic fertilizers.
At the moment, the vast majority of plants are closed, but no one is going to clean up local rivers and restore soil. The surroundings of this large Azerbaijani city resemble some kind of dirty desert from films about the Apocalypse. However, according to Green Peace activists, over the past few years, the environmental situation in Sumgait has become much better, thanks to the activities of volunteer organizations.
4. Dhaka, Bangladesh
Another of the dirtiest cities in the world is Dhaka. This capital has an unpleasant status. The Khazaribag region has become famous for a huge number of factories for the production of leather, as well as a record amount of garbage.
Therefore, it is here that the largest number of waste collectors and sorters works. The population of Dhaka is approximately fifteen million people. Another problem of the city - in Dhaka there is a lack of purified drinking water. The water that citizens drink contains a huge amount of bacteria and harmful microorganisms. All the streets of the capital of Bangladesh are simply littered with waste products, and people can go to the toilet right on the street. Terrible is the air quality that residents of the capital breathe. Due to large traffic jams, the level of air pollution has exceeded by many times all conceivable standards. Also, do not forget about the colossal population of Bangladesh, which affects the environmental situation.
3. Tianying, China
It is known that in China there are a huge number of environmentally polluted places. A terrifying environmental disaster overtook this city, which is one of the largest industrial centers of China. The Chinese authorities do not pay attention to lead completely saturated with soil.
Lead oxides irreversibly affect the blood vessels of the brain, making residents of the city sleepy and irritable. Of course, residents suffer from a huge number of diseases. Also, there is a large number of children who suffer from dementia - this is another of the side effects of exposure to a dangerous metal, which is observed when ingested. However, the Chinese government is still chasing economic performance, forgetting the environmental situation of its industrial cities. The main thing for them is financial growth and economic prosperity.
2. Sukinda, India
Speaking of the most environmentally dirty cities in the world, it is difficult not to mention this actively developing country. However, economic and industrial development will have to pay dearly. The city of Sukinda is the largest chromium mining site on the planet. Plants processing this dangerous metal are located in the same region. It is well known that hexavalent chromium is a very toxic substance, and you need to be careful with it. But in the situation with Sukinda, we observe almost complete disregard for any environmental standards in the extraction and processing of chromium, so this region is in reality a deplorable sight.
More than eighty percent of all deaths in the city and its outskirts are somehow related to diseases caused by disgusting ecology. It is known that almost all processing wastes are poured into water; they often contain almost 2 times more chromium than world standards allow. The estimated number of potentially affected residents of the city is estimated at three million people. In reality, a real environmental disaster is developing before us.
1. Linfen, PRC
Which city is the dirtiest in the world? It is located in China. This is Linfen with a population of more than 4 million people, which is located on the banks of the Fen River, in the Chinese province of Shangxi. Since the late seventies, Linfen has been the center of the Chinese coal industry, here the air is filled with soot and dust from coal mines. It has been named one of the dirtiest cities in the world. Residents suffer from bronchitis, pneumonia, lung cancer and even often become victims of lead poisoning as a result of high levels of industrial pollution. In the ranking of the dirtiest cities in the world, the honorable first place, according to experts, is precisely this Chinese settlement.
In addition to the huge factories that are engaged in coal processing, a number of combines are located on its territory that produce and produce food products. The result of the development of Chinese industry in this city is an increased content in the air of carbon, such a metal as lead, and chemical compounds of harmful organic origin.
Ecological situation in the world
However, only 12% of these people live in environmentally-friendly cities that meet World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines. These cities are located in Canada and Iceland. It is worth noting that half of the megacities of the planet and their inhabitants are exposed to air pollution, and in many cities the situation is getting worse, not improving. Over the past century and a half, carbon dioxide emissions have increased, and there is evidence that more than 200 million people are directly affected by air pollution.
In 2012 alone, 3.7 million people died prematurely for this reason. In Europe, North America, Africa, or Asia, air pollution can have many devastating consequences, from acid rain to heart disease. In an effort to tackle these challenges by raising awareness, WHO examined over 10,000 cities from 2009 to 2013 to make a list of the world's dirtiest cities. More than a billion people in the most polluted settlements are suffering from the consequences of the development of industry and production on the once green and clean Earth. Acid rain, mutation of the existing flora and fauna, extinction of biological creatures - all this, unfortunately, has become a reality.
What is the dirtiest city in the world? It is hard to answer this question, because ratings are made up of different organizations. However, all of these cities are simply amazing environmental pollution. There is also a question: why the authorities of these countries are not fighting for a clean ecology and environment.