China is the world’s most populous country with an estimated population of 1,390,510,630 (World Population Statistics, February 2014). Sadly, China is now facing an ever growing issue of pollution resulting to increased incidence of birth defects, unusable waterways, and one of the worst environment degradation you’ll ever find on Earth.
Here are 33 incredible photos that show the terrifying effects of pollution in China:
1. A boy swims in dense algal blooms in Qingdao, which are caused by excessive agricultural runoff and lead to ‘dead zones’ that become inhospitable for both flora and fauna.
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2. A journalist takes a sample of the Jianhe River, which has become red from chemical plants illegally dumping untreated waste water directly into a local stream.
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3. Scientists recently warned that air pollution in China has become so severe that it could lead to the equivalent of a nuclear winter across the country.
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4. Pressure on local resources has created a country-wide issue with clean water. Here, a lake in Hefei contains a sizable surface layer of pollutants and algae.
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5. In 2010, a blast in an oil storage facility in Dalian led to over 400 million gallons of oil being spilled. For comparison’s sake, that’s over four times the size of the 2010 BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill.
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6. On January 12, 2013, air quality index levels in Beijing were so hazardous that they were beyond existing measurement.
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8. Residents look at the heavily polluted river that cuts through the city of Zhugao in Sichuan province.
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9. As China’s demand for energy has soared, the incidence of oil spills and gas-related pollution will only increase.
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11. Air pollution has become so problematic that school and work closures due to smog are a regular occurrence in major cities.
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12. Trash collection and disposal is now more of a luxury. In rural areas, local bodies of water act as the de facto location for garbage disposal.
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14. China burns around half the world’s coal, reaching 3.8 billion tons in 2011.
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15. According to Greenpeace, Beijing experienced 2,589 deaths and a loss of US$328 million in 2012 because of PM2.5 pollution.
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16. Over the last decade, China has become a global dumping ground for the world’s discarded electronics. Below, a boy sits on a pile of waste at a scrapping ground.
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18. By 2030, experts projected that China’s carbon dioxide emissions could equal the entire world’s CO2 production today, if the country’s carbon usage keeps pace with its economic growth.
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19. A fisherman wades through the oil spill in Dalian.
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20. Three quarters of Chinese cite environmental problems as a national security threat, according to a 2009 study by the Lowy Institute for International Policy and the MacArthur Foundation.
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21. China is home to 20 of the world’s 30 most polluted cities, according to the World Bank.
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22. A local fisherman collecting fishes that died from exposure to water pollution
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24. Two thirds of China’s cities don’t meet the country’s own air emissions standards.
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25. According to The New York Times, only 1% of China’s 560 million urban residents breathe air deemed safe by European Union standards.
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26. A young boy drinks water from a stream filled with refuse in Fuyuan, China.
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27. Every year, 750,000 Chinese die prematurely from pollution.
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28. In 2007, Chinese officials announced that over one third of fish species native to the Yellow River are now extinct because of damming or pollution.
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30. According to the Asia Water Project, 90% of China’s urban groundwater is contaminated.
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32. By its own governmental projections, China will have exploited all of the country’s available water supplies by 2030.
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China, according to the Harvard Business Review “is taking this challenge much more seriously than others… doing things differently, making longer-term, sustained commitments that are much larger.” It is a relief to know that China is not turning a blind eye to this serious issue.
h/t All That Is Interesting