«I won’t go to Black! It is with bacteria!», «Oh! Yes, Azov is really dangerous!"- you say, but you can’t even imagine which sea is the dirtiest. Our Top 10 will help you figure out where they’re about to sound about a man-made disaster (if you haven’t done it yet).
10. The Red Sea
Drop in fish production by 70% + dangerous tourists.
The waters spread over 438,000 km², and the sea is considered the most saline in the world, because not a single freshwater river flows into it. The concentration of pollutants only increases (plastic bottles, bags, packaging from sweets), and the reservoir is “crushed” due to evaporation. According to some reports, the number of fish caught decreased by 70%. The reason is simple: aquatic vertebrates simply die under the dominance of plastic and polyethylene.
9. The Caspian Sea
Increased phenol concentration + mass death of sturgeon.
The largest closed lake of 371,000 km² dies under the yoke of oil rigs and barges. Just imagine that the concentration of phenol here is 6 (!) times higher than the permissible norms. So far, the miners of “black gold” are fighting off ecologists and the public, continuing to pollute the Caspian waters with processed products. Poachers, who arrange a real hunt for salmon and sturgeon, add problems.
8. Sea of Japan
Oil spills 90% of the area of the bays + the content of phenols and pesticides is 10 times higher than normal.
The waters wash the territory of 4 states at once (DPRK, Russia, the Republic of Korea and Japan), spread over 1,062,000 km². This is not the dirtiest sea, but just imagine what is here:
- nuclear bases and submarines are buried;
- radioactive substances from "outdated" warships are mothballed;
- particles of mercury, arsenic, phosphorus, nitrogen, lead float;
- the amount of hydrogen sulfide increases;
- full of petroleum products and hazardous phenols.
7. Laccadive Sea
Gutter metropolis + heavy metal content of 0.6 ml per 1 liter.
A body of water with an area of 786,000 km² is “adjacent” to large settlements, and this proximity is definitely not good. “Laccadia” water is a test tube from a chemical laboratory in which there are radionuclides, and carcinogens, and arsenic, and salts of heavy metals, and particles of mercury ... Scientists are sounding the alarm, because the concentration of heavy metals in ports reaches 0.3-0.6 ml per liter. This is 6 times higher than the maximum permissible values.
6. South China Sea
Claims of China + threat of destruction of 121 reefs.
The reservoir with an area of 3,537,289 km² is the most polluted in the Southern Hemisphere. The key problem is China's desire to capture up to 86% of the space and build cities on reefs and rocks. Of course, sewage, chemical waste, oil particles, radionuclides will burst into the waves, and thousands of rare reefs will die. The threat is climate change, discharges of agricultural fertilizers, and fishing by poachers. Just a little bit - and the title "The Dirty Sea in the World" is provided.
5. Sea of Azov
A 7-fold increase in the concentration of phenols + technological disasters!
The facility with an area of 39,000 km² has been threatened more than once by disaster. If in Soviet times the sea was famous for fishing opportunities, today ecologists are sounding the alarm (aquatic vertebrates are dying due to carcinogens). The concentration of thiocyanates in waters is 12 times higher than the established norms. In some parts, the oil content exceeds the MAC by 150 times!
The problem is not only in enterprises that are actively dumping pollution in Azov. Dry cargo ships and tankers periodically drown in the waters. For example, in 2007 just one of such accidents occurred. As a result, 1,300 tons of fuel oil were thrown into the sea.
4. The Baltic Sea
500 tons of chemical weapons + annual 50 tons of cadmium.
An area of 415 thousand km² is a real “chemical / nuclear barrel”. Since 1951, the Baltic Sea was used for the burial of chemical weapons, charges and bombs. Over 60 years, the protective packaging has rusted, and all the "good" rises. Add problems and enterprises, as well as tankers / bulk carriers. About 33 tons of mercury per 21 thousand km3 are thrown into the water every year. The amount of copper is 4,000 tons or more, and lead is more than 3,000.
3. The Mediterranean Sea
Up to 1,000,000 tons of oil per year + 100 thousand tons of mercury.
Even Jacques Yves Cousteau called the water a “landfill,” and today something has not changed much on an area of 2,500,000 km². Planning a vacation in Italy, Montenegro, France or Cyprus? Keep in mind that up to 1,000,000 oil and oil products are thrown into the Mediterranean Sea per year. WHO back in the 1990s began to sound the alarm, because 12,000 tons of phenols, 800,000 tons of nitrogen, 3,800 tons of lead were dumped in the water area.
2. The Black Sea
90% of jellyfish + threat of technological disaster.
The condition of the reservoir with an area of 422,000 km² is characterized as “environmentally unfavorable”. Victor Tarasenko (President of the Crimean Academy of Sciences) said that the Black Sea is the dirtiest sea in the world, and not just in Russia. The causes of the problems are commonplace:
- Nitrates and phosphates from agricultural land;
- water pollution by oil and oil products;
- waste of human life (just imagine that about 20 countries in Europe dispose of wastewater 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 the UK came to the conclusion that the uncontrolled actions of “those wishing to earn money” led to a serious restructuring of the ecosystem at least 2 times in 50 years).
1. Gulf of Mexico - 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, and Mexico carry 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 occurred in the USA: more than 5,000,000 tons of “black gold” barrels went into the bay, and an area of more than 75 thousand km2 was literally “scorched” (the fish die instantly).
If people want to relax in clean water, you need to remember about the environment!
