99% of scientists agree that the climate on Earth is changing at a tremendous rate, faster than they can analyze it. The remaining percentage of scientists are paid generous subsidies by oil and other industrial companies to cover up the shameful consequences of their activities. Carbon dioxide is just one of the many causes of global climate change. A much more serious problem is methane - it is about 17 times more toxic than carbon dioxide.

As glaciers in the oceans melt, methane is released, which has been hidden in them for millions of years in the form of frozen plants. If all of Greenland's 2.3 cubic kilometers of glaciers melted, world sea levels would rise by 7.2 meters, and the 100 most populated cities in the world would be completely under water. It is not yet known how long it will take for the world's second-largest ice sheet to melt, but the worst part is that the largest glacier - Antarctica - has already begun to melt.

In recent years, huge amounts of hazardous waste have entered the Earth's atmosphere. Industry and fuel companies destroy natural resources, cut down forests and release deadly substances into the atmosphere. There are places on Earth that, it seems, nothing will help, only time.

10. Agbogbloshi, Ghana - e-waste dump.

Most of the electronics we throw away are likely to end up in a huge, burning landfill in Ghana. There is a horrendous mercury content here, 45 times more than is allowed in the US. More than 250,000 citizens of Ghana live in dangerous conditions for health and life. This is especially true of those whose job it is to dig through this dump in search of metals to be recycled.

9. Norilsk, Russia - mines and metallurgy.

Once there were camps for enemies of the people, and now it is the second largest city beyond the Arctic Circle. The first mines appeared here in the 1930s, when no one thought about ecology. It is home to the world's largest heavy metal smelting complex, which releases about two million tons of sulfur dioxide into the atmosphere every year. Miners in Norilsk live ten years less than the world average. This is one of the most polluted places in Russia: even the snow tastes of sulfur and is black. Sulfur dioxide emissions cause diseases such as lung cancer.

8. Niger Delta, Nigeria - oil spills.

About two million barrels of oil are pumped out of this zone every day. About 240,000 barrels end up in the Niger Delta. From 1976 to 2001, about seven thousand cases of oil spills in the river were recorded here, and most of this oil was never collected. The spills heavily polluted the air, resulting in the formation of carcinogens such as polycyclic hydrocarbons. A 2013 study estimated that pollution caused by spills has a huge impact on cereal crops, leading to a 24% increase in digestive disorders in children. Other consequences of the oil spill also include cancer and infertility.

7. Matanza Riachuelo, Argentina - industrial pollution.

Some 15,000 companies are dumping toxic waste directly into the Matanza Riachuelo River, which flows through Buenos Aires, the capital of Argentina. The people who live there have almost no sources of clean drinking water. There is a high level of diseases associated with diarrhea, oncology and respiratory diseases, which reaches 60% among the 20 thousand people living on the banks of the river.

6. Hazaribagh, Bangladesh - leather production.

About 95% of the registered tanneries in Bangladesh are located in Hazaribagh, a district in the capital Dhaka. Here, outdated and banned in other countries methods of leather dressing are used, not to mention the fact that all these industries emit about 22 thousand cubic liters of toxic chemicals into the largest river. The hexavalent chromium found in this waste causes cancer. Residents have to put up with high levels of respiratory and skin diseases, as well as acid burns, nausea, dizziness and itching.

5. Valley of the river Chitarum, Indonesia - industrial and domestic pollution.

The level of mercury in the river is more than a thousand times higher than the standards of the US Environmental Protection Agency. Additional research has revealed extremely high levels of toxic metals, including manganese, iron and aluminum. Indonesia's capital, Jakarta, is a city of 10 million people. The valley of the river Citarum is covered large quantity a variety of toxic waste - industrial and domestic, which is dumped directly into the waters of the river. Fortunately, the country's authorities have taken the initiative to clean up the river, which will be funded by a $500 million loan from the Asian Development Bank.

4. Dzerzhinsk, Russia - chemical production.

300,000 tons of hazardous chemical waste was dumped in and around the city from 1930 to 1998. In 2007, Dzerzhinsk entered the Guinness Book of Records as the most poisonous city on the planet. In water samples, levels of phenols and dioxins were found, thousands of times higher than the norm. These substances are directly linked to cancer and diseases leading to disability. In 2006, the average life expectancy for women here was 47 years, and for men - 42 years, with a population of 245 thousand people.

3. Chernobyl, Ukraine - an accident at a nuclear power plant.

The accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant holds the title of the worst nuclear disaster in history. The release of radiation as a result of the accident was about a hundred times greater than as a result of the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The outskirts of the city have been empty for over 20 years. It is believed that about 4 thousand cases of thyroid cancer, as well as mutations in newborns, are caused by the consequences of the disaster.

2. "Fukushima Daiichi", Japan - an accident at a nuclear power plant.

After a strong earthquake, a 15-meter tsunami covered the cooling units and the power supply of the three Fukushima reactors, which led to a nuclear accident on March 11, 2011. More than 280,000 tons of water with chemical waste are now being held at the power plant, and about 100,000 tons of water are believed to be in the basements of four reactors in the turbine shops. Rescue workers tried to send robots there, but they melted when they got too close. People in this area are at risk for a wide variety of cancers. According to the World Health Organization, this is the most polluted place in the world. There is a 70% higher risk of getting thyroid cancer among girls who were exposed as children, a 7% higher risk of thyroid cancer among boys, and a 6% higher risk of breast cancer in women.

1. Lake Karachay, Russia.

It is believed that Lake Karachay is the dirtiest place on Earth. It is located next to the Mayak production association, which produces nuclear weapons components, isotopes, and is engaged in the storage and regeneration of spent nuclear fuel. This is the largest and one of the least efficient such industries in Russia. It has been throwing waste into the river that flows into Lake Karachay since the 1950s. The place was kept secret until the mid-1990s. There have been several nuclear accidents at the factory, and toxic waste has entered the lake. Before the authorities acknowledged these facts, among the population of the Chelyabinsk region, the number of cases of leukemia increased by 40%, by 25% - by birth defects and by 20% - by cancer. Enough exposure for one hour at the lake to die.

We all tend to complain about our own lives, the conditions and the place where we live. Have you ever thought that there are people who live much worse and more difficult than you? This is worth thinking about at least once in your life. Today we will share with you the ranking of the top 10 dirtiest cities in the world. Not only is it unpleasant to be in these cities, but there is also a high risk to life. And people still live there. Now you will have the opportunity to see from the outside the living conditions of some people. This will help you understand how good it is to live clean and tidy.

We will tell you about the most polluted cities in the world and reveal to you the reasons why they have become so. Sometimes, it is even difficult to imagine that people can really exist in such conditions. These are not all places, but only a part of the most unsightly places on our planet. Well, it's time to start. The faint of heart, as they say, please leave.

10 Rudnaya Pristan, Russia.

The Russian city opens the rating with the dirtiest cities in the world. An estimated 90,000 people are considered potentially infected. And all because of harmful substances such as mercury, lead and cadmium, which pollute everything around. These substances are contained in everything that a person needs so much: in drinking water, fauna and soil. As a result, local residents cannot fully obtain the necessary water, grow crops, it is simply dangerous for health. Even the blood of local children contains many dangerous substances that exceed the norm by an unacceptable number of times. But it doesn't get any better. Every year the scale of pollution is increasing.

9 Ranipet, India.

In this area there is a large tannery engaged in leather tanning and dyeing. Chromium salts, sodium chromate and other harmful substances are used to work at the plant, and subsequently tons of hazardous waste, instead of being eliminated and disposed of, end up in groundwater. Drinking water, groundwater and soil become unusable, which not only makes people sick, there are many deaths. However, local farmers continue to toil on the contaminated land, watering their crops with polluted water.

8 Norilsk, Russia.

Norilsk is a city with a huge number of plants and factories where heavy metals are smelted. As a result, harmful substances such as nickel, strontium, copper, etc. are constantly in the air. You will not envy the inhabitants of the city. Snow, more like mud, and the air tasting sulphurous. But this is not the worst. Mortality is increased, life expectancy is much less than the average for the country, and almost everyone here has illnesses. Foreign tourists no longer come to Norilsk, because even a short stay in this city can affect the state of health, which will then be very difficult to recover.

7 Mailuu-Suu, Kyrgyzstan.

In the immediate vicinity of this settlement there is a huge burial of radioactive substances. The level of radiation in these places exceeds the norm by dozens of times. Since landslides and floods due to earthquakes, as well as heavy rains and mudflows, are considered frequent phenomena in this area, hazardous substances will spread throughout the region at lightning speed. As a result, locals and residents of the surrounding area suffer from oncology.

6 LinFeng, China.

Linfeng, although not the dirtiest city in the world, but in the country, perhaps, it is he who has the worst environmental situation. The air contains such harmful substances as lead, carbon, ash, etc. The content of these substances has long exceeded all permissible norms. We can say that the Chinese themselves are to blame for this. Everyone knows that the country is in dire need of coal, so hundreds of mines are being created throughout the territory, sometimes illegal and completely unregulated. Alas, Linfeng City has become a kind of mine. As a result, people suffer, getting severe and incurable diseases.

5 La Oroya, Peru.

This small mining town has long been subject to emissions of toxic substances released into the atmosphere due to the work of a local factory. The blood of local children contains an amount of lead that has long exceeded all norms. As a result, children are forced to suffer from serious illnesses. And the vegetation in this city has long been forgotten. Everything that once grew here was destroyed by acid rain.

4 Kabwe, Zambia.

In the last century, rich deposits of lead were discovered in this city. The air is so polluted with heavy metals, the norms are exceeded by 4 times. Residents reap the most severe consequences of ingestion of hazardous substances: vomiting, diarrhea, blood poisoning, chronic kidney disease and even muscle atrophy.

3 Haina, Dominican Republic.

In this area is a factory that produces car batteries. The waste from this plant is very dangerous because it contains a very high lead content. The amount of this substance is so critical that it exceeds the norm not at times and not even tens, but thousands of times! It's hard to even imagine. The most common diseases in this area are congenital malformations, mental disorders and eye diseases.

2 Dzerzhinsk, Russia.

Once this city was the center where they were engaged in the production of chemical weapons. After illegally written off and dumped into groundwater were tons of chemical waste. People in this city don't live to old age. Men, at best, live up to 42 years, and women a little more - up to 47 years. According to estimates, the death rate in Dzerzhinsk has long exceeded the birth rate by 2.6 times. The forecast is not the most optimistic. It is sad that in the top ten dirtiest cities in the world, our country occupies 3 lines at once.

1 Chernobyl, Ukraine.

Chernobyl takes 1st place in the ranking and receives the title of the dirtiest city in the world. There is probably no person on earth who has not heard about the catastrophe that occurred in Chernobyl. During the ongoing tests at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, the core of the reactor melted, and a terrible explosion occurred. From this, 30 people died immediately on the spot. 135 thousand people were evacuated. Since then, no one has lived in the city. We also remember the bombs that were once dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and so the explosion that occurred in Chernobyl resulted in a hundred times greater release of radioactive substances. This tragedy will forever remain in the hearts and memory of people. And the consequences of this accident are visible to this day.

The dirtiest city in the world | Video

Environmental pollution is one of the most common problems today. Emissions of harmful substances occur in almost every settlement, the only question is where their number is many times higher than the norm. In this article, we will find out in which parts of the world the ecological situation is the least comforting, which countries are the dirtiest in the world.

Sources of environmental problems

The activity of human intervention in nature is inevitably growing, reflecting not in the best way on the state of the environment. Recently, the destructive influence of our activities is felt even in remote, untouched regions of the planet.

Before we talk about the dirtiest countries in the world, let's take a look at what causes pollution. It must be said right away that man is not the only cause of pollution of the planet. Often it happens without our participation, for example, during forest fires or volcanic eruptions. However, even then the emissions of hazardous substances are not too high compared to what we produce.

Natural pollutants are substances that enter the environment in excess of the norm. It can be various microorganisms, physical radiation or chemical compounds. Most often, they end up in nature through transport, industrial enterprises, landfills, agriculture, and nuclear energy.

Even ordinary household items contribute. So, working equipment increases the noise level, computers and phones emit electromagnetic waves, lamps and heaters emit additional heat, some become a source of mercury.

Criteria for assessing the environmental situation

Ratings of the most environmentally polluted countries in the world are very conditional. As a rule, when compiling them, only some of the factors affecting the environment are taken into account. A complete assessment of the environmental situation in the regions may include the level of soil, air, water pollution, the amount of resources consumed and their conservation, the level of all kinds of radiation, etc.

Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Egypt, Bangladesh, Kuwait and Cameroon have recently been leading among the countries with the most polluted air. At the same time, China (10,357 million tons), the USA (5414 million tons), India (2274 million tons), Russia (1617 million tons) and Japan (1237 million tons) were among the countries that emit the largest amount of carbon dioxide. . The dirtiest countries in terms of drinking water quality were Afghanistan, Chad and Ethiopia. Next to them are usually Ghana, Bangladesh and Rwanda.

Top dirtiest countries in the world

Problems with environmental pollution exist almost everywhere where a person is present. Some states are successfully fighting them by introducing effective technologies. Others only increase their "harmful potential", creating a danger not only for their own inhabitants, but also for the population of the entire planet. In 2017, one of the rankings of the 10 dirtiest countries in the world looked like this:

1. Kuwait.
2. Bahrain.
3. Qatar.
4. United Arab Emirates.
5. Oman.
6. Turkmenistan.
7. Libya.
8. Kazakhstan.
9. Trinidad and Tobago.

• the amount of energy consumption;
• renewable energy sources;
• air pollution;
• carbon dioxide emissions;
• number of deaths due to air pollution.

This Muslim state occupies 80% of the Arabian Peninsula and is in 13th place in the world in terms of area. Most of Saudi Arabia is represented by deserts, semi-deserts and mountains. There are no forests and permanent rivers, there is a lot of sun and heat, and fresh water is present only in underground sources.

The main resource of the state is oil and natural gas, the extraction and processing of which contributes to the emission of huge amounts of CO 2 . Due to the vast deserts, the main population is located on the coasts. The products of human activity are often thrown into the ocean, which destroys valuable coral reefs. Urban growth also results in vehicle emissions and increases the consumption of water, which is already used in large quantities to irrigate fields.

In general, the most polluted country in the world, Saudi Arabia has made the excessive use of petroleum products, high urbanization, unreasonable farming, as well as the lack of programs to introduce alternative energy sources. However, the country's authorities promise to deal with the last problem soon.

Kuwait

Kuwait is the second most environmentally polluted country in the world. It is located on the coast of the Persian Gulf, right next to Saudi Arabia. Unlike its neighbor, it is not large (only 152nd in the world in terms of territory), but it has almost the same number of environmental problems.

Kuwait, by the way, like Qatar, UAE, Oman, Bahrain, has very scarce natural resources. All of them built their economy on oil. Kuwait has approximately 10% of the total world supply of this fuel. Every year, the country produces approximately 165 million tons of black gold, which poses a threat to the purity of the air.

The danger to the environment is not only the process of resource extraction, but also the way it is stored. From wells, oil usually does not immediately enter the market, and while it waits in the wings, it periodically lights up. Then it emits CO 2 , harmful ash and other pollutants into the air. Great damage to the ecology of Kuwait was inflicted in 1990, when Iraq set fire to about 1,000 of its wells.

Libya

In the list of the dirtiest countries in the world, only Libya is in Africa. It is located in the northern part of the continent, on the Mediterranean coast. Most of the country is covered by the Sahara desert, so the climate here is mostly dry and hot. It is favorable only on the coast and in oases.

Libya is characterized by many environmental problems, such as a small supply of drinking water, desertification, water and air pollution. As in the countries of the Middle East, not without fuel resources. This African state exports oil and natural gas to various European countries (Italy, France, Germany, Spain), putting its own territories at risk.

The situation created by human activity is exacerbated by natural factors. In spring and autumn, strong sirocco or ghibli winds form in Libya. They bring hot air up to 50 degrees, dry fogs and clouds of dust. The winds blow for about five days, causing problems with the respiratory and nervous systems.

Kazakhstan

Kazakhstan is the largest state in the world in terms of area, which does not have access to the sea. Unlike its "neighbors" in the ranking, it was among the dirtiest countries not only because of oil and products based on it. Kazakhstan is the largest economy in all of Central Asia, with a huge number of different industries.

The country produces and processes non-ferrous and ferrous ores, coal, oil, natural gas, bauxite and other minerals. The most harmful are oil refineries, lead-zinc, chromium, phosphorus plants. Thanks to them, heavy metals, sulfur dioxide, hydrogen sulfide, soot and other substances enter the air. Cars complicate the situation - the main sources of aldehydes, nitric oxide, benzpyrene, carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide.

Trinidad and Tobago

The Republic of Trinidad and Tobago is located in the Caribbean Sea, close to Venezuela. It covers two large and hundreds of small islands. Hot tropical climate, evergreen forests and savannahs, sandy beaches and unique animals... It would seem that in such a place there can be no problems with the environment. The country even began to develop ecological tourism.

However, not everything is so smooth here. The main sectors of the economy of Trinidad and Tobago are oil and gas processing, heavy industry, and the production of asphalt and fertilizers. All this led to soil erosion, a decrease in forest area, and pollution of water and the coastal strip. In The Eco Experts ranking, the emphasis was mainly on the air, with which the country is also not all right. Metallurgy and oil refining contribute to the release of many toxic substances into the atmosphere, which gradually turn a piece of paradise into an impossible place to live.

Technological progress is inextricably linked with environmental pollution. On all continents of our planet, mining is carried out and industrial production is located. They, in turn, have an extremely negative impact on the ecology of the area and the Earth as a whole. In many cities, the ecological situation is so terrible that it is difficult to imagine that people continue to live in them. But it is true, they are still inhabited by thousands of people.

American analytical company Mercer Human conducted a series of studies and presented to the world top 10 most uninhabitable cities in the world. The criteria by which the ecological situation of the territory was assessed include:

• Population,
• remoteness of the place from the source of pollution,
• the level of hazardous and harmful substances in the environment,
• the amount of time it takes for them to decay,
• radiation level.

The full list includes 35 locations. Of these, 8 are located in Russia, 6 in India, then the Philippines, the USA, China, Romania, etc.

The most environmentally polluted cities in the world

Linfen, China

Opening the list of the most uninhabitable cities is Linfen, the center of coal mining in China. Coal dust has completely covered the territory: it settles on the roofs of houses, windows, trees, clothes, etc. To assess the criticality of the situation, it should be said that the locals do not dry clothes on the street, as it turns black.

The population is about 200 thousand people, among whom serious respiratory system diseases: asthma, bronchitis, lung cancer, etc.

The state does not take any measures, despite the fact that the situation has been very critical for a long time.

Tianying, China

This is another Chinese industrial center. Large-scale lead mining is carried out near the city. Heavy metal literally destroys the ecology of the environment, it is found everywhere: in water, soil and air. The city is in a constant haze, the visibility range is only 10 m!

A lot of demented children are born here. Measures to reduce the level of lead are also not being carried out.

Sukinda, India

Deployed near the city chromium mining. The accumulation of a chemical element in water and soil adversely affects the health of the population. It not only poisons the human body and leads to cancer, but provokes gene mutations.

Vapi, India

The average life expectancy here is 35-40 years, and all because of the nearby factories and metallurgical plants, which emit a very large amount of chemical elements into the atmosphere. BUT the content of mercury in soil and water is 100 times higher than the norm!

Since 1992, the small mining town of La Oroya has been suffering from the release of toxins from a factory located in the city. They settle throughout the city and its environs, and the entire population receives a large portion of toxic substances.

Currently, all local residents, including children from birth, are sick for a long time and have serious illnesses. This is due to too much lead in their blood.

The vegetation in the city disappeared, as it was burned by rains containing sulfur dioxide in high concentration. Acid precipitation also affects people, though they try not to fall under them.

Dzerzhinsk, Russia

The Russian city of Dzerzhinsk in the Nizhny Novgorod region is not far behind due to its useless ecology. In this list, he was due to the amount of harmful substances in the environment. The reasons for their appearance was the plant, which was engaged in chemical production during the Cold War. Its products were supplied throughout the Soviet Union, there were no analogues to it.

After the collapse of the USSR, part of the waste from production ( about 200 tons!)was just buried underground. From there, harmful substances spread into the groundwater and poisoned the entire area.

In addition to poisons from this plant, a lot of various substances hazardous to health were found on the territory of the city.

The average life expectancy here is 40-45 years. And in 2003, the death rate exceeded the birth rate by 2.5 times.

Norilsk, Russia

One of the world's largest metallurgical plants operates here. Every year it produces 4 million tons of hazardous waste that enter the atmosphere. They include zinc, copper, lead, arsenic, etc.

The city lacks not only vegetation, but insects, and black snow falls in winter.

Chernobyl, Ukraine

The city is abandoned. The population left it in 1986, after a terrible tragedy - the accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. Since that time, nothing has changed in the village, everything froze. Some people secretly returned to their homes and continue to live there as illegal immigrants, despite the ban on being in the city.

The accident that happened at the station is recognized as a global catastrophe. More than 20 years have passed, and the consequences are still evident, as the accident was followed by an explosion that caused a fire. As a result, the core of the reactor melted.

In the first three days, the number of infected was 5.5 million people. On that fateful day, more radiation was thrown into the air than during the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The most contaminated zone was recognized as life-threatening and the entrance to it was closed. Until today, the territory of Chernobyl and the nearest town of Pripyat is considered an alienated zone. Every year, the amount of radioactive substances there becomes less.

Abandoned school. Chernobyl

Sumgayit, Azerbaijan

The city got into the top 10 thanks to its past. During the Soviet era, it was the center of the chemical industry. 120 thousand tons of harmful substances, which threw out factories and factories, turned the territory into a terrible sight, reminiscent of the apocalypse.

Despite the fact that all production facilities have been closed, the city remains uninhabitable to this day, since no detoxification has been carried out. The state has left this work to nature.

Children's cemetery. Sumgayit

Kabwe, Zambia

At the beginning of the last century, huge lead deposits. These heavy metals greatly affect the health of the local population. According to the results of studies, the level of pollution exceeds the norm by more than four times.

This amount of toxic substances makes this city unsuitable for life. However, it is densely populated. More than anyone else, children suffer, because their organisms are not yet formed and are amenable to influence from outside. About half a million inhabitants are considered to be contaminated with lead. As a result, muscles atrophy in the local population, blood is poisoned, vomiting and diarrhea often occur, and kidney diseases and other complications are common.

Baios de Haina, Dominican Republic

Here radiation level and environmental pollution exceeds the permitted norm by several thousand times. Among all the inhabitants of this part of the city, more than 85 thousand people suffered from lead contamination. It is also the most densely populated region of the country.

In a number of medical studies, it has been found that all people have blood poisoning with lead - this is a local problem with which many children are born. This infection provokes a lot of other diseases. But, lead poisoning itself manifests itself as follows: mental disorders, the birth of children with physical deformities, eye diseases and complete loss of vision. At the moment, work is underway to clean up these areas and reduce pollution.

Mailu-Suu, Kyrgyzstan

In the period 1948-1968, it was the site of large-scale uranium mining. At the moment, all mines are closed, but the environmental situation leaves much to be desired due to “ toxic uranium burial grounds“which are destroyed by landslides and earthquakes. The radiation of the territory exceeds the permissible norm by almost 10 times.

"Uranium Burial Grounds"

Unfortunately, humanity itself destroys all the beauty of nature and poisons its own life. The desire for imaginary wealth, material wealth and power leads to serious environmental consequences, which, once launched, can become irreversible.

Fortunately, there are places on Earth that are positive examples of how it is worth living. You can get acquainted with them in the article.

Which cities are the dirtiest? If we are talking about the level of air pollution, then you can look at the data from the report for 2016 of the World Health Organization. Of course, air pollution is not the only problem, because it is necessary to take into account both the state of water and the state of the soil ... Usually, industrial waste from chemical, metallurgical and other enterprises is to blame. So here is our list.

Linfen used to be known as "Fruit and Flower City", a small rural community in Shanxi Province. Today it is covered with a veil of yellowish-gray smog and the inhabitants have already forgotten what a sunset looks like without this surreal apocalyptic illumination. Linfen is often called the most polluted city in the world - it is an area of ​​​​coal mines, including many illegal ones, operating without any control and regulations. Coal burns and, since the city is in a lowland, gray clouds gather over it.

Pollution is measured in various ways. One of the standards for measuring the level of air pollution is the study of the molecular composition of airborne dust and smog. If the particles are between 2.5 and 10 microns in diameter, then they can already be seen, but they are small enough to be airborne into the lungs. So, in the Nigerian city of Onycha - the world's highest concentration of particles of 10 microns in size in the air, 594 micrograms per cubic meter. And according to WHO standards, it should be less than 20 micrograms per cubic meter, do you feel the difference? The causes of such pollution are called a large population growth in a short time, widespread burning of garbage, cooking on open fires, exhaust gases, industrial emissions. Water and soil are also heavily polluted in this region, with high levels of arsenic, mercury, lead, copper and iron.

Peshawar is in second place in the list of cities with the most polluted air. There is also a high concentration of particulate matter in the air in all areas of the city, and the smallest particles, 2.5 microns in size, can get not only into the lungs, but also into the bloodstream. A terrible thing, very dangerous for human health. You can easily guess the reasons for such pollution yourself - they are not very different from those that we have already listed in the previous paragraph.

In the city of Zabol, located in the eastern part of Iran near the border with Afghanistan, mother nature contributes to air pollution: the summer there is called "120 days of wind", these are regular dust storms - as a result, here the highest concentration of particles in the air is 2.5 microns (those very dangerous ones) - 217 micrograms per cubic meter. When living conditions become completely unbearable, schools and government offices are closed for a while, but what's the point? The percentage of pulmonary diseases among local residents is very high, and every year the situation is getting worse.

The capital of Saudi Arabia also takes its place in the list of cities with the most polluted air. The concentration level of particles 10 microns - 368 mg, particles 2.5 microns - 156 mg per cubic meter. Here, not only natural causes are already at work, but also violent human activity. A lot of cars, low quality fuel, a huge amount of harmful emissions into the atmosphere, including emissions from fuel and cement plants - plus sandstorms from the desert. It turns out a hell of a mixture of sand and dust, hanging in the air, which people have to breathe.

The Chitarum River originates from Mount Wayang and flows into the Java Sea near Jakarta, the capital of Indonesia. More than 30 million people use the water of the Chitarum River every day, because it supplies the city, and it is especially important for the 5 million people who live directly in the river basin. Rapid industrialization and the lack of regulations have created a monster: the Chitarum River is now considered one of the dirtiest rivers in the world. Possibly the dirtiest. On its banks there are more than 200 textile factories that dump dyes and chemical waste into the water (arsenic, lead, mercury). The water becomes discolored and acquires a pungent odor. In addition, the river is terribly littered - the surface of the water is barely visible from under the layer of debris floating in it. Well, the icing on the cake is wastewater. As a result, the river is full of dead fish, and resourceful fishermen have learned to collect and recycle plastic waste instead of fish.

The Matanza-Riachuelo River is located on the territory of 14 municipalities in Buenos Aires, the capital of Argentina. And before that, it takes into its waters the waste of 15,000 industries of various industries, including chemical plants. In the soil on its banks and in the water of this river, the levels of concentration of toxic metals - zinc, copper, nickel, lead, chromium - go off scale. About 90,000 tons of heavy metals and other industrial wastes are dumped into the river every year. 8 million people live in the river basin area - many have serious health problems, mainly increased levels of intestinal, respiratory and cancerous diseases.

The Guinness Book of Records in 2007 named the Russian city of Dzerzhinsk the most chemically polluted city in the world. Since the 30s of the 20th century, it has been the largest center of the chemical industry. According to modern estimates, between 1930 and 1998, about 300,000 tons of chemical waste were dumped into the water and buried here. Water samples throughout the city show dioxin concentrations thousands of times higher than the accepted norms. Near the city is a lake known as the Black Hole, one of the most polluted lakes in the world. The water of this lake contains the caustic substance phenol in high concentration. The results of decades of pollution are deplorable: a high percentage of cancers, eye diseases, lung and kidney diseases. The average life expectancy in a city of about 235,000 is 47 years for women and 42 years for men, and the death rate exceeds the birth rate by more than 2.5 times.

In Soviet times, this city had the status of a closed city, since a deposit of radiobarite was found there, the development of which began in 1946 and continued until 1968. For 22 years, two hydrometallurgical plants have extracted and processed 10,000 tons of uranium oxide. In 1968, the last mine and factories were closed. Not far from the city are the world's largest repository of radioactive waste. In 2006, the city was ranked as one of the 10 most polluted cities in the world.

Once this city was one of the two main centers of lead production, and this heavy metal seems to have "grown" into the life of the city and its inhabitants. And indeed - the lead processing plant is still located right in the center of the city. The concentration of lead in the air and soil is at least 10 times higher than the permissible limits. Moreover, lead dust covers all agricultural land near the city. Lead accumulates in the human body over time and is very dangerous for children, as it can lead to developmental disabilities and a decrease in intelligence.

Chromium is used, for example, to make shiny stainless steel and to tan leather, and one of the world's largest chromite mines is located in the Indian city of Sakinda. This place is home to 2.6 million people and 30 million tons of highly toxic ore waste in the Brahman River region. The water of the Brahman River contains hexavalent chromium at a concentration twice the legal limit. Exposure to chromium causes stomach bleeding, tuberculosis, asthma, infertility, and birth defects. In this region, about 85 percent of all deaths are somehow related to long-term exposure to hexavalent chromium.

The city of Kabwe in Zambia is originally industrial. It was founded in 1902 after the discovery of zinc and lead deposits there, and since then this mining town has been slowly killing its inhabitants. The main problem is lead - once there was one of the largest lead processing plants in the world. A blood test of local residents shows a lead content that is 60% higher than the lethal level. Of course, there has never been any talk of any kind of standards and careful disposal of production waste, therefore both the soil and water are terribly polluted. In recent years, some efforts have been made in this regard, but the problem has not been solved - a large plant was closed, but now several small ones have replaced it.

Mining company Doe Run has always been headquartered in the US, but steel production is in La Oroya, Peru. Between 1922 and 2009, an American smelter worked here, and as a result of his work, the region is poisoned with lead and other metals, so that 99% of local children can boast of a lead content in their blood that is three times higher than the norm. In the soil - unacceptable levels of sulfur dioxide, arsenic and cadmium. In 2009, the Americans closed the plant, including due to the cost of cleanup activities. The current leadership of Peru would like to reopen the plant, but this requires its serious modernization - and so far there have been no people who want something.

Not only is it cold in Norilsk, but everything is not very good with the environment either. This city is considered one of the most industrially polluted both in Russia and in the world.

For example, in September 2016, the waters of the Daldykan River turned bright pink, apparently due to unauthorized dumping of waste from a nearby smelter. The Norilsk Nickel company denied this in every possible way, but in the end admitted the obvious fact.

Chernobyl is still at the top of any list of the most environmentally unfriendly cities. Once on this list after the accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant back in 1986, this place will now be polluted and unsuitable for human life for tens of thousands of years.