Not Russia

Many critical Russians would be ready to proclaim that the most dirty country the world - their own homeland. They are far from a real understanding of the true environmental situation on the planet.

It is worth saying that scientists do not have a common point of view on which particular power could be declared the dirtiest. U various organizations, designed to protect the health of the planet's inhabitants, as well as monitor global weather and climate changes, there are slightly different criteria in this regard in specific nuances. Although they usually take into account the whole complex parameters, yet the results of their research actually differ.

True, in most cases, at the head of the “black lists” in terms of “pollution” (in the broadest sense of this term) are those states that are rightfully considered world leaders as suppliers of energy resources (gas, “black gold”, etc.) . Their economy, primarily industrial sectors, is very developed or is rapidly increasing own indicators. It is clear that such great achievements come at the cost of a deteriorating environmental situation.

Mongolia

The Top of such anti-ratings also includes powers with too much low level infrastructure development (some of their areas, if not the vast majority, even have considerable problems in water and energy supply), industry and the economy as a whole. By and large, they can be counted among those states that are insultingly called “banana republics.”

According to WHO reports (whose specialists relied primarily on the level of air pollution), the most polluted country in the world is Mongolia. The main point that became fatal for this power was the rapid urbanization, which in just the last couple of decades has covered about seventy percent of the territory of this state. By the way, the Mongolian capital city - Ulaanbaatar - is included in the Top list of the most polluted cities on the planet. In winter it is difficult to see it at all - it is actually hidden by a blanket of gray-brown smog.

Botswana and Pakistan

Botswana is not much further from Mongolia. Having turned into perhaps the largest earner in Africa mineral resources, she thereby signed the verdict on her own air. However, only the development of diamond and copper mines “kills” it.

According to the WHO report, the top three “anti-leaders” also include Pakistan. There are many sources of air pollution here, among which one of the leading positions is held by cars with too “dirty” engines. In addition, there are serious interruptions in water supply in this country.

The Earth Policy Institute calls completely different people “dirty”, based on the volume of hydrocarbons emitted on their territories. The Top 3 of such powers included current or potential world political and economic leaders - China, the USA and India. Together, they “saturate” the atmosphere annually with approximately 4.5 billion tons of polluting compounds.

Iraq, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, South Africa, Yemen, Kuwait, India, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Libya

Scientists at the University of California and Yale have a different opinion. In their “Ecological rating”, the position of states in which was determined by more than two dozen parameters (water and air pollution, the impact of such an atmosphere on residents, etc.), Iraq, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan were declared outsiders - i.e. the most “dirty” , Kazakhstan, South Africa, Yemen, Kuwait, India, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Libya.

Residents of the above-mentioned powers, in order to breathe at least a little clean air, should obviously periodically go on a tour of Switzerland. It is this state that is often declared to be the cleanest on the planet in all respects.

Which cities deserve the title of the most environmentally unsafe in the world? In what places is it present? real threat health and life of the population? Let's highlight the top 10 most polluted cities in the world.

Sumgayit

The Azerbaijani city of Sumgait was founded in the 40s of the last century. Initially, there was extremely rapid population growth here. By the middle of the century, the number of city residents exceeded a quarter of a million. Soon there was an acute shortage of housing here. Therefore, a significant part of the population simply had to huddle in cramped rooms in numerous hostels.

However, the housing shortage was not the best for Sumgayit residents. main problem. In the region presented, a whole mass of chemical enterprises was concentrated, the activities of which over the course of several decades turned the once fragrant nature into a scorched desert.

Currently, about 260 thousand people live in Sumgait, which is located 30 km from the capital of Azerbaijan, Baku. IN Soviet years There were about 40 factories around the city that produced a wide variety of chemicals. The largest enterprises, such as Khimprom, Aluminum Plant, Organic synthesis", are still operating at full capacity.

Every year, from 70 to 120 tons of exhaust that is harmful to health are released into the atmosphere over the city, which are formed as a result of the processing of chlorine-containing compounds, rubber, heavy metals, as well as the production of pesticides and household cleaning products. Today, thanks environmental control, environmental pollution in the region has decreased. However, even those substances that enter the air are enough to render local water and soil unusable.

The unfavorable situation could not but affect the health of the population. Thus, the level of life-threatening diseases here is more than 50% higher than in other populated areas of the country. Therefore, it is not surprising that Sumgait is annually included in the ranking of the most polluted cities in the world.

Linfen

Continuing to review the 10 most polluted cities in the world, one cannot ignore one of the largest industrial centers in China called Linfen. It is located in the main coal-mining region of the country. The natural hills surrounding the settlement are simply dotted with mineral mines. Moreover, the bulk of the mines are made up of illegal workings. The waste from their activities pollutes the soil and groundwater deposits around the clock.

However, numerous mines are a relatively minor problem. In addition to the mines, there are dozens of coal processing plants operating in the city area. Along with the population growth, which is replenished with newly arrived workers, the number of cars also increases. Their exhausts combined with emissions toxic substances into the atmosphere from local enterprises led to catastrophic levels of arsenic in the atmosphere.

City residents have to go outside wearing protective masks that filter out dangerous toxins and partially eliminate the acrid smell of coal. in Linfeng it is so significant that after washing laundry, hung outside the window, within a few minutes it becomes completely black. Numerous city residents suffer from bronchitis, pneumonia, and other lung diseases.

Kabwe

We continue to look at the most polluted cities in the world. Next in our ranking is the city of Kabwe, located 150 km from the capital of the African state of Zambia. This settlement is known for the largest deposits of lead-enriched rocks on the planet. For a century, poisonous metal has been mined here at an industrial pace. Lack of control over the environmental situation in the region leads to significant loss of groundwater and soil. At a distance of tens of kilometers from the city, it is dangerous not only to drink from wells, but also to simply breathe the air. It is not surprising that the percentage of lead compounds in the blood of the city population exceeds the permissible standards by more than 10 times.

Dzerzhinsk

Russian Dzerzhinsk is also included in the list of the most polluted cities in the world. The Soviet legacy of this settlement is the huge industrial complexes for processing chemical raw materials. Only since 1930, the local soil has been “enriched” with more than 300 thousand tons of toxic compounds.

According to the results latest research, today the amount of life-threatening phenols and carcinogenic dioxins in local water bodies exceeds standard indicators several thousand times. The average life expectancy for men here is about 42 years, and for women - 47 years. Considering the above, it should not be surprising that Dzerzhinsk is included in the list of the most polluted cities in the world in terms of ecology.

Norilsk

Already from the first years of its existence, Russian Norilsk has joined the list of the most polluted cities in the world by air. Since the 50s of the last century, this settlement has the reputation of one of the leaders of heavy industry on the entire planet.

According to the latest data from organizations monitoring the environmental situation in the country, more than 1,000 tons of toxic breakdown products of nickel and copper are released into the local atmosphere every year. The air in the city is saturated with critical levels of sulfur oxide. As a result average duration The life of the local population is shortened by 10-15 years compared to other regions of the country.

La Oroya

The Peruvian industrial center of La Oroya is also included in the ranking, which contains the most polluted cities in the world. A small settlement in area is located in the foothills of the Andes, where deposits of ores of the most common metals are concentrated. For several decades in a row, they have been mining lead, copper, zinc, and other minerals in industrial scale. At the same time, the environmental situation in the region still remains without control by the relevant organizations. Today the city of La Oroya is notorious throughout South America as the place where the highest mortality rate among children is observed.

Sukinde

When considering the most polluted cities in the world, you should pay attention to the Indian industrial center of Sukinde. More than 95% of the country's chromium is mined here. As a result, the city turned into a real waste dump over the course of several decades. In the area around the settlement there are numerous mounds that are of absolutely man-made origin.

Tons of hexavalent chromium are released into the atmosphere above Sukinde. It is this substance that is known as a powerful catalyst that leads to the formation cancer cells in the body. IN large quantities The carcinogen was found not only in the local air, but also in the soil and water used by city residents for drinking.

Chernobyl

As you know, the Chernobyl disaster, which occurred several decades ago, remains to this day the worst man-made accident on the planet in the entire history of mankind. Already in the first years after the explosion nuclear reactor power plant, the number of casualties among the population exceeded 5.5 million. The large-scale accident made not only the nearest city of Pripyat uninhabitable, but also led to the formation of an exclusion zone with a radius of 30 km around the populated area.

Every year, Chernobyl is consistently included in the list of the most polluted cities in the world. Hundreds of tons of enriched plutonium and uranium are still concentrated in the area where the dilapidated reactor is located. According to official data, about five million people continue to live in the territory that is part of the exclusion zone.

Vapi

The Indian city of Vapi is inhabited by more than 70 thousand people. All of them are in the area where it is observed increased danger for people's health and life. As data from environmental organizations show, there are currently no technologies that would clean local air, water and soil from toxic substances.

Vapi is located on the territory of the country's industrial belt with a length of about 400 kilometers. Local businesses avoid spending money on recycling waste, which is piled up in completely random places around the city. Vapi is also a kind of garbage dump for nearby settlements.

There is a massive accumulation of waste from chemical, textile, and oil refineries. Heavy metals, poisons, pesticides, substances containing chlorine and mercury daily enter rivers and groundwater, which remain the main sources of drinking water for the local population. To understand the scale of the environmental disaster, just look at the Kolak River, which is located nearby Vapi. According to researchers, there is absolutely no biological life in the waters of the latter.

In conclusion

So we looked at which of the most polluted cities in the world really deserve their status. In fact, the list of hazardous communities includes hundreds of cities across the planet. Our rating presents only the most vivid examples man's openly negligent attitude towards nature and his own environment.

Medal technical progress It also has its downside. It allows people to use things and opportunities unheard of in past centuries, but at the same time, to meet ever-increasing demand, humanity is forced to constantly increase the production of raw materials and industrial production. At the same time, everyone strives to make this production as cheap as possible, so concern for the environment is often forgotten, and dirty production destroys literally all living things around. It is therefore not surprising that most of the dirtiest cities have now moved to the new centers of world production - China and India.

Agbogbloshie (Ghana)

This African city is so dirty that it is simply dangerous to live in it. Although such a picture was not always observed - in a matter of years, the ecology of this large Ghanaian city was hopelessly damaged after a landfill for electronic waste, the second largest in West Africa, was set up in its swampy semi-desert district. It is known that in addition to lead, electronics contain almost the entire periodic table, and not at all in the form of vitamins. Developed “civilized” countries of the world gladly send millions of tons of toxic waste here, turning the life of the residents of Agbogblosha into a living hell.

Rudnaya pier (Russia)

This city is probably the dirtiest in Russia, and it is no coincidence that its 90,000 population are considered potentially poisoned. Everything in the area is contaminated with lead, cadmium and mercury compounds; they have penetrated the soil and groundwater, infecting flora and fauna. Therefore, city residents have nowhere to take clean water for drinking, to grow vegetables, since any crop can only poison. In the blood of local children common occurrence became a presence toxic substances, much higher than the permissible concentration. The sad thing is that this situation is only getting worse every year.

Ranipet (India)

The area is home to a large leather industry involved in the dyeing and tanning of leather. Such production is associated with the widespread use of chromium compounds and other toxic substances, which, instead of proper disposal, are simply dumped in the area, polluting groundwater. As a result, both the land and water here become unusable. Local residents not only get sick from all this, but also die en masse. And local peasants, despite this, continue to cultivate the poisoned land, watering it with poisoned water and spreading the poison more and more.

Mailuu-Suu (Kyrgyzstan)

Not far from this Kyrgyz town there is a large burial site of radioactive waste, so the level of radiation everywhere in these places is off the charts. The location for the radioactive dump was chosen criminally irresponsibly - here frequent occurrences There are landslides caused by earthquakes, and heavy rains cause floods and mudslides. All this extracts radionuclides to the surface and quickly spreads throughout the surrounding area. As a result, local residents suffer from cancer in large numbers.

Haina (Dominican Republic)

This city is home to the production of car batteries, the waste from which is toxic lead compounds. In the area surrounding the enterprise, the amount of lead exceeds the norm by thousands of times. Hence the specific diseases among the local population: eye diseases, mental disorders, congenital deformities.

Kabwe (Zambia)

Kabwe is the second largest city in Zambia and is located 150 kilometers from its capital Lusaka. About a hundred years ago, lead deposits were discovered here, and since then they have been continuously mined, and the waste quietly poisons the local soil, water and air. As a result, within a radius of 10 km from the mines it is dangerous not only to drink local water, but also just breathe. And every resident of the area is “stuffed” with a 10-fold dose of lead.

Sumgait (Azerbaijan)

IN Soviet times this Azerbaijani city of almost 300 thousand was very large industrial center: Many chemical industries operated here, related to oil refining and fertilizer production. However, after the collapse of the Union and the departure of Russian specialists, almost all enterprises were abandoned, and there was no one to reclaim the land and clean up the dirt from the reservoirs. Although in lately The city is conducting environmental research to restore it.

Chernobyl (Ukraine)

Many people remember the explosion of the 4th power unit Chernobyl nuclear power plant, which occurred on the eve of the May Day holidays in 1986. Then a cloud of radiation covered a vast territory, which even included the neighboring lands of Belarus and Russia. A large exclusion zone had to be created around the reactor, removing all residents from there. Within a few days, Chernobyl turned into a ghost town, in which no one has lived since then. Outwardly, it is now a corner of wild, untouched nature, with cleanest air, which does not pollute any production. Except for one invisible enemy - radiation. After all, if you stay here for a long time, you will inevitably get radioactive contamination and cancer.

Norilsk (Russia)

The already difficult situation of Norilsk beyond the Arctic Circle was aggravated for its 180,000 population by the difficult environmental situation. There were once camps here, the prisoners of which built the world's largest metallurgical plant. Every year, from its many pipes, it began to emit millions of tons of various chemicals (lead, copper, cadmium, arsenic, selenium and nickel). In the Norilsk area, no one has been surprised by black snow for a long time; here, like in hell, it always smells of sulfur, and the content of zinc and copper in the atmosphere is also much higher than normal. It is not surprising that Norilsk residents are several times more likely to die from respiratory diseases than residents on the mainland. Not a single living tree remained within fifty miles of the factory furnaces.

Dzerzhinsk (Russia)

This city with a population of 300 thousand became the brainchild of “ cold war", so each of its residents received as an inheritance a ton of toxic waste buried near Dzerzhinsk in the period from 1938 to 1998. In groundwater here, the concentration of dioxins and phenol is 17 million times higher than normal. In 2003, this city was even included in the Guinness Book of Records as the dirtiest city in the world, in which the death rate far exceeds the birth rate.

La Oroya (Peru)

At the beginning of the last century, American industrialists turned the Peruvian town of La Oroya, located in the foothills of the Andes, into a metallurgical center, where large quantities began to smelt lead, zinc, copper and other metals. To reduce the cost of production, environmental issues were simply forgotten. As a result, all the formerly forested surrounding peaks became bald, the earth, air, and water were poisoned with lead, as were the inhabitants themselves, almost all of them suffering from one or another specific disease. All of them, including children, have almost as much lead in their blood as there is in a battery. But the worst thing happened later. When the Americans themselves were horrified by what they had done here and proposed a plan to improve production and land reclamation, involving the temporary closure of all enterprises, the local residents themselves opposed this, fearing to be left without work and livelihoods.

Vapi (India)

India competes with China in terms of economic growth, so such “little things” as nature conservation and ecology are very often not taken seriously here. The city of Vapi, with a population of 70,000, is located in the southern part of a gigantic industrial zone, stretching for 400 km, generously releasing various exhausts and waste from countless chemical and metallurgical industries into the environment. Local groundwater contains almost 100 times more mercury than normal, and local residents have to breathe air generously flavored with heavy metals.

Sukinda (India)

When smelting stainless steel, one of the most important additives is chromium; it is also used in leather tanning. But this metal is a strong carcinogen that can enter the body with air or water. Near the Indian city of Sukinda is being developed large deposit chromium, so in more than half of the sources groundwater There is a double dose of hexavalent chromium. Its detrimental effect on the health of local residents has already been noted by Indian doctors.

Tianying (China)

The city of Tianying, located in northeastern China, is home to one of the country's largest metallurgical centers, producing approximately half of all Chinese lead. The city is constantly shrouded in a bluish haze, and even during the day visibility here remains very weak. But the worst thing is that in pursuit of a rapid increase in metal production, the Chinese did not care about nature. As a result, the land and water here are saturated with lead, which is why local children are born deformed or weak-minded. Bread made from local wheat will probably seem a little heavy, because it will contain 24 times this amount heavy metal, which liberal Chinese law allows.

Linfen (China)

The dirtiest city can be called Linfen - the center of coal mining in China. Its residents wake up and go to bed like real miners - with coal on their faces, clothes and bed linen. It is useless to wash the laundry - after drying it outside, it becomes just as black. In addition to carbon, the air here is rich in lead and other toxins. Therefore, local residents here suffer massively from serious illnesses and die in large numbers.

A few days ago the capital India shrouded in impenetrable smog. The level of air pollution exceeded the norm by 70 times. This situation was provoked by weather conditions: high humidity, strong winds and fires around the city. Himself Delhi has long been recognized as an environmental disaster zone. What other cities are considered the most polluted in the world - further in the review.

1. Delhi (India)

Indian metropolis Delhi considered one of the most polluted cities in the world. Approximately half the population lives in unsanitary conditions. Exhaust gases from more than 8 million cars, drainage of sewage waste directly into the river without treatment, harmful industrial production - this is not the whole list of pollution that destroys the environment and provokes human diseases. By winter, the air in the city becomes almost unbearable. Poor people burn garbage to keep warm.

2. Linfen (China)

Live in a Chinese city Linfen you won't want to worst enemy, because it is the center of the country's coal industry. The air contains increased content lead, carbon and others chemicals. People go outside wearing respiratory masks and drink only bottled water, because tap water tastes more like oil. Drying washed clothes outside is useless; the city is shrouded in smog, and it immediately turns black.

3. Dzerzhinsk (Russia)

In the period from 1938 to 1998. within the city Dzerzhinsk (Nizhny Novgorod region) and its surroundings, approximately 300,000 tons of chemical waste were buried. Concentration of phenol and dioxides in groundwater exceeds permissible norm an almost fantastic 17 million times. In 2003, Dzerzhinsk was included in the Guinness Book of Records as the most dirty city planets. For more than a decade, the mortality rate there has exceeded the birth rate by 260 percent.

4. Hazaribagh, Bangladesh

In the city Hazaribagh about 90 percent of all leather goods production capacities are concentrated. A solution of hexavalent chromium is used to treat leather, which has a very detrimental effect on human health. Every day 22,000 liters of chrome are sent into the nearest river. In addition, the remaining skin is burned, which creates a special stench.

5. Cairo, Egypt

Despite its centuries-old history, Cairo is considered a very polluted city. There is even a whole area where people live and immediately sort garbage. The first floors of the houses are reserved for waste, and the living quarters are located directly above them. The streets are also littered with garbage. Some waste, such as plastic, is burned on site.

Fortunately, not all megacities reach a critical point and become environmental disaster zones. These are confirmation that all is not lost.

Do you complain about the poor environment in the country, do you think things can’t get worse? We hasten to dissuade you, the state of the environment in some countries is more critical. However, this does not bode well for us, because we all live on the same planet. Someone constantly compiles ratings of cities and states in terms of ecology and cleanliness. The most environmentally friendly countries are always considered to be: Switzerland, Luxembourg, Norway, Latvia, Sweden, Austria, Italy, Costa Rica, and the UK. There are many more countries in the world with poor ecology, but let’s focus on the following ten, which are often included in the lists of the dirtiest countries.

The situation is especially acute because China's population is 1,349,585,838 people. On the one hand, all these lives are endangered by environmental pollution. On the other hand, such a large number of inhabitants results in gigantic volumes of consumption and waste.

And also a developing industry - heavy, mining, energy. Greatest threat represents air pollution. So, in major cities the incidence of cancer in the lungs exceeds similar indicators in rural areas 3 times.

This country ranks second in population - 1,220,800,359 people, some of the factors causing pollution are similar to China, and air pollution is also catastrophic. Experts estimate that in 40 years, over 3 million people in the world will die per year due to “dirty” air, and most of them will be residents of China and India.

Despite the fact that South Africa is the most economically developed country in Africa, it cannot boast of intensive development methods that are environmentally friendly.

Mexico's problem is water pollution. Reserves fresh water in the country are already limited, while untreated wastewater - industrial and sewage - ends up in rivers. The problem of deforestation is also relevant.

Tourists from all over the world go to this tropical paradise to have a good time and admire the amazing landscapes. Yes, this is true in the resort areas of Indonesia. However, other areas suffer from various types pollution, and the problem of waste disposal is ineffectively solved.

The modern government of Japan pays enough attention to protecting the environment, Japanese corporations are developing the best environmentally friendly technologies, but the population will continue to pay for the mistakes of the past for a long time, for example, rapid growth industry after World War II, overexploitation of natural resources.

7 – Libya

In Libya, the tense environmental situation is caused not so much by industry as by the political situation and military actions.

A state in Southeast Asia, Kuwait, has 9% of the world's oil reserves. Hence the developed economy, reverse side– environmental problems.

9 – Uzbekistan

Problems associated with environment, there are many in Uzbekistan. They are especially clearly demonstrated by the drying up of the Aral Sea, which is an environmental disaster.

10 – Iraq

Military operations in this country did not pass without a trace. The population of Iraq is now suffering from the deterioration of the environmental situation, and this is no less than 31,858,481 people.