«I won't go to Black! It has bacteria!", "Oh! The Azov Sea is really so dangerous!" — you say, but you have no idea which sea is the dirtiest. Our Top 10 will help you figure out where they are about to trumpet about a man-made disaster (if they haven't done so yet).
10. Red Sea
Fish production decline at 70% + dangerous tourists.
The waters extend over 438,000 km², and the sea is considered the saltiest in the world, because not a single freshwater river flows into it. The concentration of pollutants is only increasing (plastic bottles, bags, candy packaging), and the reservoir is "shrinking" due to evaporation. According to separate reports, the number of fish caught has decreased by 70%. The reason is simple: aquatic vertebrates are simply dying under the dominance of plastic and polyethylene.
9. Caspian Sea
Increased concentration of phenol + mass death of sturgeon.
The largest closed lake with an area of 371,000 km² is dying under the weight of oil rigs and barges. Just imagine that the concentration of phenol here is 6 (!) times higher than the permissible norms. For now, the miners of "black gold" are fighting off environmentalists and the public, continuing to pollute the waters of the Caspian with processed products. Poachers who organize a real hunt for salmon and sturgeon also add to the problems.
8. Sea of Japan
Oil spills on 90% area of bays + phenol and pesticide content 10 times higher than normal.
The waters wash the territory of 4 countries at once (North Korea, Russia, the Republic of Korea and Japan), and extend over 1,062,000 km². This is not the dirtiest sea, but just imagine that here:
- Nuclear bases and submarines are buried;
- radioactive substances from “obsolete” warships were mothballed;
- particles of mercury, arsenic, phosphorus, nitrogen, and lead float;
- the amount of hydrogen sulfide increases;
- full of petroleum products and dangerous phenols.
7. Laccadive Sea
A megacity sewer + heavy metal content of 0.6 ml per 1 liter.
The reservoir with an area of 786,000 km² is “neighboring” with large settlements, and this proximity is definitely not good. Laccadia water is a test tube from a chemical laboratory, which contains radionuclides, carcinogens, arsenic, heavy metal salts, and mercury particles... Scientists are sounding the alarm, because the concentration of heavy metals in the ports reaches 0.3-0.6 ml per liter. This is 6 times higher than the maximum permissible values.
6. South China Sea
China's claims + threat of destruction of 121 reefs.
The 3,537,289 km² body of water is the dirtiest in the Southern Hemisphere. The key problem is China's desire to seize up to 86% of space and build cities on reefs and rocks. Of course, wastewater, chemical waste, oil particles, radionuclides will crash into the waves, and thousands of rare reefs will die. Climate change, agricultural fertilizer discharges, and poaching pose a threat. Just a little more - and the title of "The dirtiest sea in the world" is guaranteed.
5. The Sea of Azov
Increase in phenol concentration by 7 times + man-made disasters!
The 39,000 km² site has been under threat of disaster more than once. If in Soviet times the sea was famous for its fishing opportunities, today environmentalists are sounding the alarm (aquatic vertebrates are dying due to carcinogens). The concentration of thiocyanates in the waters is 12 times higher than the established standards. In some parts, the oil content exceeds the MAC by 150 times!
The problem is not only in the enterprises that actively dump pollution into the Azov. Periodically, dry cargo ships and tankers sink in the waters. For example, in 2007, one of these accidents occurred. As a result, 1,300 tons of fuel oil were thrown into the sea.
4. Baltic Sea
500 tons of chemical weapons + 50 tons of cadmium annually.
The area of 415 thousand km² is a real "chemical/nuclear barrel". Since 1951, the waters of the "Baltia" have been used for the burial of chemical weapons, charges and bombs. Over 60 years, the protective packaging has rusted, and all the "good stuff" rises to the top. Enterprises and tankers/dry cargo ships also add to the problems. Every year, about 33 tons of mercury are dumped into the waters per 21 thousand km3. The amount of copper is 4,000 tons and more, lead - more than 3,000.
3. Mediterranean Sea
Up to 1,000,0000 tons of oil per year + 100 thousand tons of mercury.
Jacques-Yves Cousteau once called the waters a "garbage dump", and today, on an area of 2,500,000 km², not much has changed. Planning a vacation in Italy, Montenegro, France or Cyprus? Keep in mind that up to 1,000,000 tons of oil and petroleum products are dumped into the Mediterranean Sea every year. The WHO began to sound the alarm back in the 1990s, because 12,000 tons of phenols, 800,000 tons of nitrogen, and 3,800 tons of lead were dumped into the waters.
2. Black Sea
90% jellyfish + threat of man-made disaster.
The state of the reservoir with an area of 422,000 km² is characterized as "ecologically unfavorable." Viktor Tarasenko (President of the Crimean Academy of Sciences) stated that the Black Sea is the dirtiest sea in the world, not just in Russia. The reasons for the problems are banal:
- Nitrates and phosphates from agricultural lands;
- water pollution by oil and oil products;
- human waste (just imagine that about 20 European countries dump their waste water here in one way or another);
- construction on the Black Sea coast (source of concrete, sand, asbestos, bricks, cement dust);
- poaching and fishing (experts from Great Britain have come to the conclusion that the uncontrolled actions of those “wanting to make money” have led to a serious restructuring of the ecosystem at least twice in 50 years).
1. The Gulf of Mexico is the dirtiest sea
Not water, but a solid reagent.
The inland sea of the Atlantic Ocean with an area of 1,543 thousand km² is a whole "chemical laboratory! The rivers of Cuba, the USA, Mexico carry here the remains of agricultural fertilizers and sewage. But this is not the worst thing, but periodic oil spills, explosions on drilling rigs and tankers. For example, in 2010, the largest oil spill in the USA occurred: more than 5,000,000 tons of barrels of "black gold" went into the gulf, and an area of more than 75 thousand km2 was literally "scorched" (fish die instantly).
If people want to relax on clean water bodies, they need to remember about ecology!
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