Environmental Issues of India and China
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Pollution of the Yangtze River
How has the Yangtze River changed from clear water to murky, polluted water so dramatically?
Many companies, factories, and towns/villages along the Yangtze River dump 23.4 billion tons of industrial wastes and sewage annually into the waters of this important river. Since factories prefer to be along rivers for access to water and transportation, half of China's factories reside near the Yangtze River, meaning that more waste is being dumped into the river. The Three Gorges Dam, built on the Yangtze River, creates a reservoir, or lake. As a result, the sewage wastes have built up in the reservoir, resulting in diseases such as malaria, schistosomiasis, and encephalitis contaminating the reservoir. Garbage, animal and human waste, and industrial waste from factories and mines add to the already heavy polluted Yangtze River.
In addition, nitrogen from agricultural fertilizer runoff also pollutes the waters of the Yangtze. Plants need nitrogen, but when there is an overabundance of nitrogen, algae grows and lessens the oxygen available in the water for animals to survive. As a result, fish die from the lack of oxygen, and other animals can't live in the water. Some species even become extinct, such as the Yangtze River dolphin. Getty Images/ Britannica ImageQuest
How has water pollution of the Yangtze River impacted it's surroundings?
Due to how polluted the Yangtze River has become, its water has become too contaminated and dangerous for human use and drinking water. This has been a disaster to many people because of their dependence on the Yangtze for their water usage. Due to the river's bad water quality, it has become a killer to many animals that have resided in its waters for centuries, and to the human population surrounding it. For the villagers that do use the Yangtze River's water for drinking, washing, and bathing, they have a high health risk. Once the villagers get a disease or sickness, they are likely to die due to their poverty that doesn't allow them to receive good medical care.
60,000 annual deaths
Many companies, factories, and towns/villages along the Yangtze River dump 23.4 billion tons of industrial wastes and sewage annually into the waters of this important river. Since factories prefer to be along rivers for access to water and transportation, half of China's factories reside near the Yangtze River, meaning that more waste is being dumped into the river. The Three Gorges Dam, built on the Yangtze River, creates a reservoir, or lake. As a result, the sewage wastes have built up in the reservoir, resulting in diseases such as malaria, schistosomiasis, and encephalitis contaminating the reservoir. Garbage, animal and human waste, and industrial waste from factories and mines add to the already heavy polluted Yangtze River.
In addition, nitrogen from agricultural fertilizer runoff also pollutes the waters of the Yangtze. Plants need nitrogen, but when there is an overabundance of nitrogen, algae grows and lessens the oxygen available in the water for animals to survive. As a result, fish die from the lack of oxygen, and other animals can't live in the water. Some species even become extinct, such as the Yangtze River dolphin. Getty Images/ Britannica ImageQuest
How has water pollution of the Yangtze River impacted it's surroundings?
Due to how polluted the Yangtze River has become, its water has become too contaminated and dangerous for human use and drinking water. This has been a disaster to many people because of their dependence on the Yangtze for their water usage. Due to the river's bad water quality, it has become a killer to many animals that have resided in its waters for centuries, and to the human population surrounding it. For the villagers that do use the Yangtze River's water for drinking, washing, and bathing, they have a high health risk. Once the villagers get a disease or sickness, they are likely to die due to their poverty that doesn't allow them to receive good medical care.
60,000 annual deaths
Getty Images
From Britannica ImageQuest
From Britannica ImageQuest