Water is the source of life, and rivers are the lifeblood of humanity and ecosystems. Just as great civilizations arose along rivers throughout history, today billions of people depend on these water sources for their existence. However, in the last century, industrialization, unplanned irrigation, unregulated urbanization, and global climate change have put these natural resources at risk of extinction. The world's once most vibrant rivers are "dying" today due to anthropogenic factors. One of the main goals set at the UN COP29 climate conference held in Baku in 2024 was precisely the protection of rivers and freshwater basins, and the sustainable management of water resources.
Modern.az presents a comprehensive overview of rivers around the world that are already biologically dead or facing the threat of complete drying up.
Ganges and Yamuna Rivers - India
These two rivers, which form the basis of India's water system, are currently one of the world's most severe ecological disaster zones. The Ganges River, the third largest river in the world, serving over 2 billion people, is considered sacred by a large part of the population. People believe that the waters cleanse them of sins. But the reality is that untreated sewage from over 1100 industrial enterprises is discharged directly into it, and millions of people continue to bathe in this toxic water.
The Yamuna River, a tributary of the Ganges, has already been declared biologically "dead" in many places. The river is often covered with white toxic foam caused by chemical waste. While the acidity balance in clean drinking water is 7, in the Yamuna this indicator is 11. The level of ammonia in its composition is so high that facilities processing drinking water for the 20 million inhabitants of the capital Delhi regularly have to cease operations.
Buriganga River - Bangladesh
Once the lifeline of the capital Dhaka, the Buriganga has been completely destroyed by the massive discharge of industrial and domestic waste. The river water is pitch black, except during the monsoon rains, and emits a pungent stench all year round. The main polluters are textile and leather processing factories. Plastic waste accumulated at the bottom of the river has shallowed its bed, changing its flow direction. No living organisms survive in the river during the dry season.
Citarum River - Indonesia
Dense population and waste from factories along its banks have turned this river into a toxic reservoir. The level of mercury in the Citarum River is exactly 100 times higher than the accepted international norm. Millions of people are still forced to use this water for domestic purposes as they have no other alternative.
Yellow River - China
The Yellow River, considered the cradle of Chinese civilization, has fallen victim to the country's rapid climate and economic leap. Due to excessive irrigation and the appropriation of water by thousands of factories and coal mines, the river has been drying up before reaching the sea since the 1970s. In 1997, the river hit an anti-record, failing to flow to the sea for 226 days of the year. This third longest river in Asia is also poisoned with billions of tons of untreated industrial sewage.
Indus River - Pakistan and India
This important water source in South Asia is under both ecological and geopolitical pressure. The rapid melting of the Himalayan glaciers that feed the river due to global warming and unplanned irrigation lines have sharply reduced the water level in the river's delta. As a result, salty seawater has entered the riverbed, destroying the coastal freshwater ecosystem and agriculture.
Marilao River - Philippines
The Marilao, the sole water source for millions of people, has been severely polluted by leather processing factories, domestic waste, and gold refining facilities. The water contains heavy metal rocks that pose a deadly threat to human health.
Amu Darya and Syr Darya - Central Asia
These two rivers once fed the Aral Sea. However, as a result of the massive diversion of water from these rivers for irrigating cotton fields since the 1960s, 90% of the Aral Sea disappeared. Today, both rivers have turned into meager streams in their lower reaches, creating a major regional disaster zone.
Colorado River - USA and Mexico
This magnificent river, North America's most famous and creator of the Grand Canyon, is now almost completely dry. Due to the giant dams built on the river, the extreme consumption by megacities like Las Vegas, Los Angeles, and Californian agriculture, the Colorado River has not been able to reach its natural endpoint, the Gulf of California in the Pacific Ocean, for many years and disappears in the sands.
Jordan River - Middle East
This historic river, considered sacred for Christianity and Judaism, is on the verge of extinction due to severe drought in the region and the diversion of 95% of its water by regional states. Today, resembling an ugly stream only a few meters wide and filled with sewage, the river also contributes to the rapid drying up of the Dead Sea.
Sarno and Danube Rivers - Europe
Although the source of the Sarno River in Italy, considered Europe's most polluted river, is clean, agricultural and industrial waste along its course completely poisons it. During floods, these toxic waters cause complete degradation of the soil. The situation is different in the Danube River. Researchers have found 7 different types of antibiotics in the water, far exceeding safety limits, in all 9 European countries through which the river flows.
Matanza River - Argentina
The Matanza River in Argentina, considered the dirtiest river in South America, receives heavy metals from leather factories as well as waste from slaughterhouses. Therefore, it is called the "Slaughterhouse River" by the local population.
Danger is at the door:
A similar global and regional ecological crisis is also relevant for our country today. The sharp decrease in the water level of the Kura and Aras rivers, Azerbaijan's main water arteries, in recent years is an alarm signal.
The Aras River, the largest right tributary of the Kura River, is vital for irrigating agricultural lands in Azerbaijan. However, the quality of the river's water is not at a desirable level due to transboundary pollution.
In this context, the biggest ecological terror has arisen in the Okhchuchay. Waste from closed mining industry enterprises in Armenia has been poisoning this river for many years. Even Armenia's internal structures and local ecologists have admitted this disaster. Armenian ecologist Levon Galstyan stated in 2021 that although dozens of severe pollution incidents have been recorded in the last 6-7 years alone, these accidents and their consequences have been covered up each time. L. Margaryan, an employee of the Ecological Security Center of Yerevan State University, officially confirmed that the amount of molybdenum, iron, lead, zinc, chromium, and other deadly heavy metals in the Okhchuchay is many times higher than the norm. This toxic flow directly joins the Aras River, and from there to the Kura, targeting our ecosystem.
Global consequences of river "death":
Globally, the drying up and pollution of rivers are rapidly pushing humanity into crisis.
Destruction of agriculture: 72% of the water drawn from the world's large rivers is used for irrigation. This excessive use exhausts giant rivers like the Yangtze, Nile, and Congo. The leakage of fertilizers into rivers creates toxic algae in the waters, forming lifeless zones.
Extinction of fauna: Since 1970, the number of freshwater species has decreased by 84% globally. This is the fastest mass extinction rate on the planet. With the drying up of rivers, endemic fish and plant species disappear.
