Which cities deserve the title of the most environmentally unsafe in the world? In what places is there a real threat to the health and life of the population? Let's highlight the top 10 most polluted cities in the world.
Sumgait
The Azerbaijani city of Sumgait was founded in the 40s of the last century. Initially, there was an extremely rapid population growth. By the middle of the century, the number of inhabitants of the city exceeded a quarter of a million. Soon there was an acute shortage of housing. Therefore, a significant part of the population simply had to huddle in the cramped rooms of numerous dormitories.
However, the housing shortage was not the most important problem for the residents of Sumgait. A whole mass of chemical enterprises concentrated in the region represented, the activity of which over 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 the Soviet years, there were about 40 factories in the city district that were engaged in the manufacture of a wide variety of chemicals. The largest enterprises, such as Khimprom, Aluminum Plant, Organic Synthesis, still operate at full capacity.
Over the course of each year, from 70 to 120 tons of harmful emissions are produced into the atmosphere above the city, which are formed as a result of processing chlorine compounds, rubber, heavy metals, as well as the manufacture of pesticides and household cleaning products. Today, due to environmental control, environmental pollution in the region has decreased. However, even those substances that enter the air are enough to make local water and soil unusable.
The adverse environmental situation could not but affect the health of the population. Thus, the level of life-threatening diseases is higher by more than 50% compared with other settlements of the country. Therefore, it is not surprising that Sumgayit is annually ranked as the most polluted city in the world.
Linfin
Continuing to survey the 10 most polluted cities in the world, one cannot ignore one of the largest industrial centers in China called Linfin. It is located in the main coal-mining region of the country. The natural hills surrounding the settlement are dotted with mineral mines. Moreover, the bulk of the mines are illegal workings. Wastes from their activities around the clock pollute the soil and groundwater deposits.
However, numerous mines are a relatively minor disaster. In addition to mines, dozens of coal processing plants operate in the city district. Along with population growth, which is replenished by newcomers, the number of cars is also increasing. Their emissions, combined with the release of toxic substances into the atmosphere from local enterprises, led to the catastrophic content of arsenic in the atmosphere.
Residents of the city have to go out in protective masks that filter out dangerous toxins and partially eliminate the pungent smell of coal. The air pollution in Linfeng is so significant that after washing, the clothes hung out the window, after a few minutes become completely black. Numerous residents of the city suffer from bronchitis, pneumonia, and other lung diseases.
Kabwe
We continue to consider the most polluted cities in the world. The 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 enriched lead rocks on the planet. For a century, toxic metal has been mined at an industrial pace. Lack of control over the environmental situation in the region leads to significant pollution of air, groundwater and soil. At a distance of tens of kilometers from the city, it’s dangerous not only to drink from the wells, but just to breathe the air. It is not surprising that the percentage of lead compounds in the blood of the city population exceeds more than 10 times the permissible norms.
Dzerzhinsk
The list of the most polluted cities in the world includes Russian Dzerzhinsk. The Soviet legacy of this settlement is the huge industrial complexes for the processing of chemical raw materials. Since 1930, more than 300 thousand tons of toxic compounds have “enriched” the local soil.
According to the latest research, today the amount of life-threatening phenols and carcinogenic dioxins in local water bodies exceeds the standard indicators by several thousand times. The average life expectancy of men here is about 42 years, and women - 47 years. Given the above, it is not surprising that Dzerzhinsk is on the list of the most polluted cities in the world in terms of ecology.
Norilsk
From the very first years of its existence, Russian Norilsk joined the list, which contains the most polluted cities in the world by air. Since the 50s of the last century, this locality has the glory of one of the leaders of heavy industry on the entire planet.
According to the latest data from environmental monitoring organizations in the country, more than 1, 000 tons of toxic decay products of nickel and copper are released into the local atmosphere every year. The air in the city is saturated with critical sulfur oxide content. As a result, the average life expectancy of the local population is reduced by 10-15 years compared with other regions of the country.
La Oroya
The Peruvian industrial center of La Oroya also falls into the ranking, where the most polluted cities in the world are present. A small settlement is located in the foothills of the Andes, where ore deposits of the most common metals are concentrated. For several decades in a row they have been engaged in the mining of lead, copper, zinc and other minerals on an industrial scale. At the same time, the environmental situation in the region remains without control by the relevant organizations. Today, the city of La Oroya is notorious throughout South America as a place where there is the highest mortality among children.
Sukind
Considering the most polluted cities in the world, you should pay attention to the Indian industrial center of Sukind. It produces more than 95% chromium in the country. As a result, the city for several decades turned into a real landfill. In the district of the village there are numerous mounds that are of absolutely technogenic origin.
Tons of hexavalent chromium are thrown into the atmosphere over Sukind. This substance is known as a powerful catalyst that leads to the formation of cancer cells in the body. Carcinogen is found in large quantities not only in local air, but also in soil and water, which is used by residents of the city for drinking.
Chernobyl
As you know, the Chernobyl disaster, which occurred several decades ago, to this day remains the most terrible man-made incident on the planet in the history of mankind. Already in the first years after the explosion of a nuclear reactor of a power plant, the number of victims among the population exceeded 5.5 million. A large-scale accident made unsuitable for life not only the nearest city of Pripyat, but also led to the formation of an exclusion zone with a radius of 30 km around the village.
Every year Chernobyl is invariably 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 in which the dilapidated reactor is located. According to official figures, about five million people continue to live in the territory that is part of the exclusion zone.
Wapi
The Indian city of Vapi is inhabited by more than 70 thousand people. All of them are located in areas where there is an increased danger to human health and life. According to the data of environmental organizations, at present there are no technologies that would allow to clean the local air, water and soil from toxic substances.
Vapi is located in the industrial belt of the country with a length of about 400 kilometers. Local enterprises avoid spending money on waste processing, which are piled up in completely arbitrary places in the city district. Wapi 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 containing chlorine and mercury substances daily enter rivers and groundwaters, which remain the main sources of drinking for the local population. To understand the extent of the environmental disaster, just look at the Kolak River, which is located nearby Vapi. According to researchers, in the waters of the latter there is absolutely no biological life.
