Ecology
On the eve of the northeast Chinese city of Harbin with a population of 11 million inhabitants almost closed due to air pollution.
The smog that enveloped the city was so dense that many people not seen at a distance of 9 meters. The situation is so serious that schools, airports and some bus routes have been closed.
Pollution is measured using an index that identifies small particles in the air. Particle levels below 25 are considered safe, and above 300 are considered dangerous.
In Harbin pollution indicators exceeded the international safety standard by 40 times, reaching more than 1000 in some parts.
Atmospheric pollutants
Meanwhile, the World Health Organization (WHO) has officially announced that air pollution leads to lung cancer. Air pollution is a carcinogen, along with hazards such as asbestos, tobacco, and ultraviolet radiation.
"The air that most people breathe is polluted with a complex mixture of cancer-causing substances," said Kurt Straif, spokesman for the International Agency for Research on Cancer. In addition, he believes that air pollution is now " the most serious environmental carcinogen followed by passive smoking and cigar smoke.
This spring, WHO also compiled a list of the most polluted cities in the world. The first place in the list was taken by the city of Ahvaz in the western part of Iran with a population of more than 3 million inhabitants, which is the capital of the province of Khuzestan.
Most polluted cities 2013
Here are the 10 most polluted cities, according to the amount of suspended particles less than 10 micrometers in diameter per cubic meter of atmospheric air (PM10):
1. Ahvaz, Iran - 372
2. Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia - 279
3. Senendage, Iran - 254
4. Ludhiana, India - 251
5. Quetta, Pakistan - 251
6. Kermanshah, Iran - 229
7. Peshawar, Pakistan - 219
8. Gaborone, Botswana - 216
9. Yasuj, Iran - 215
10. Kanpur, India - 209
As can be seen, the cities with the worst air quality are not large capitals, but provincial cities dominated by heavy industry. So the city of Ahvaz in Iran overtook cities such as New Delhi and Beijing, known for their pollution with a PM10 level of 372, while the world average is 71. Life expectancy in this city is the lowest in Iran.
1. Linfen, China - air pollution
2. Bhopal, India - industrial chemicals
3. Central Kalimantan Province, Indonesia - Mercury
4. Kasaragod, India - Pesticides
5. Dzerzhinsk, Russia - chemicals, industrial waste
6. Sumgayit, Azerbaijan - organic chemicals
7 Tianying, China - Lead
8. Sukinda, India - Hexavalent Chromium
9. Chernobyl, Ukraine - radiation
10. Arctic Canada - persistent organic pollutants
The most polluted cities in Russia
Norilsk, Moscow and St. Petersburg top the list of the most polluted cities in Russia, according to the Federal State Statistics Service.
Last year, the volume of pollutant emissions in Norilsk amounted to more than 1959 thousand tons. In Moscow, this figure was 995 thousand tons, and in St. Petersburg - 448 thousand tons.
Emissions from cars and stationary objects such as factories were taken into account. Most of the cities included in the rating are centers of large-scale metallurgical, oil and chemical industries.
Here 10 most polluted cities in Russia:
1. Norilsk
3. St. Petersburg
4. Cherepovets
7. Novokuznetsk
9. Angarsk
The problem of pollution of Russian cities, which has become especially acute in recent years, is inextricably linked with the global process of urbanization. The growth in the population of medium and large cities and agglomerations leads to an increase in the anthropogenic impact on the atmosphere, water bodies, soil cover and living organisms. In Russia, this process has been most active since the end of the first half of the twentieth century; during this time, fundamental changes took place in the economy, the most famous Soviet industrial giants appeared, on the basis of which new vast industrial regions were formed. The same period includes the active development of those cities and territories in which the most difficult environmental situation is now observed.
All more or less significant cities with industrial enterprises and a developed transport network require increased attention from environmental specialists. But there are places on the map that have actually become a zone of ecological disaster over the past decades. This is indicated not only by the analysis of the state of the environment, but also by the direct statistics of morbidity and mortality of residents who are forced to stay in the polluted territory and consume local products. Below are the dirtiest cities in Russia selected on the basis of environmental monitoring data.
1. Norilsk
Zapolyarny Norilsk with a population of more than 170 thousand people is the dirtiest city in Russia, the undisputed leader in terms of emissions into the atmosphere. Every year, the city's enterprises emit about two million tons of toxic substances into the air, while their concentration in the air periodically becomes tens and even hundreds of times higher than the maximum allowable. The main source of toxic emissions is the Norilsk Nickel mining and smelting plant.
The geographical and climatic features of Norilsk (the city is surrounded by mountains on three sides) do not allow emissions to dissipate, so many Norilsk residents periodically experience breathing problems. In general, Norilsk is characterized by an extremely low life expectancy compared to the average for the region, and its environs for many kilometers around are almost completely devoid of vegetation.
2. Dzerzhinsk
Dzerzhinsk, a satellite city of Nizhny Novgorod with a population of 230 thousand inhabitants, and a center of the chemical industry, could not but enter the list of the most polluted cities in Russia. During the twentieth century, hundreds of tons of hydrocyanic acid, pesticides, cyanides and other highly toxic substances were buried and dumped into the groundwater in Dzerzhinsk and its environs. In addition, during the Cold War, Dzerzhinsk was the most important place for the development of chemical weapons, traces of which - mustard gas and phosgene - still remain in the soil. A kind of attraction of the city are chemical lakes with different colors of water, storage of deadly poisons.
3. Magnitogorsk
Magnitogorsk is located in the Southern Urals, its population is about 420 thousand people. The Magnitogorsk Metallurgical Plant operates in the city - one of the main enterprises of ferrous metallurgy and a major source of harmful emissions. After the collapse of the USSR, measures were repeatedly taken to reduce the amount of emissions, but the monitoring results indicate that the threat remains: the concentration of various impurities in the atmosphere of Magnitogorsk is several times higher than the maximum permissible values, which makes it one of the most polluted Russian cities.
4. Cherepovets
Cherepovets of the Vologda region, with about 320 thousand inhabitants and which became a city back in 1777, is now known as one of the centers of ferrous metallurgy. According to official statistics of recent years, Cherepovets ranks second in the Russian Federation after Norilsk in terms of air pollution. The main source of "dirt" is a metallurgical plant. It adversely affects the ecological situation and chemical production, which has been intensively developing in the city since the 1970s.
5. Asbestos
Asbest - a small town near Yekaterinburg with a population of less than 65 thousand people, located on the edge of a huge asbestos quarry, the largest in the Urals. Asbestos has been mined openly since the end of the nineteenth century, and it is also processed here. In the vicinity of the deposit, including the city itself, the air is characterized by a high concentration of asbestos dust, which, as researchers found at the end of the last century, provokes the development of cancer. Despite this, the development of the quarry is still ongoing. Asbestos is in the middle of our list of the dirtiest cities in Russia.
6. Lipetsk
Lipetsk is a large city in Central Russia, the second largest city in the Central Black Earth economic region after Voronezh (more than 500 thousand inhabitants). A major environmental problem in the city is the Novolipetsk Iron and Steel Works; in unfavorable winds, when regularly occurring emissions from the enterprise cover the center of Lipetsk, the concentration of hazardous impurities is several times higher than the permissible values. An additional load on the atmosphere is exerted by cement and machine-tool plants. In the last ten years, projects have been carried out to reduce pollution levels, which make it possible to expect that in the near future the environmental situation will become close to the expected norm. Perhaps Lipetsk will leave the ratings of the most dangerous cities in Russia for life.
7. Omsk
Omsk, with a population of 1.2 million people, is one of the largest cities in the Russian Federation. This is one of the main centers of oil refining, machine building, chemical and metallurgical industries in Siberia. The greatest growth of the urban economy occurred back in the 1940s - 50s, when many new enterprises arose and began to rapidly expand in Omsk, including the Omsk oil refinery and the aircraft manufacturing plant (now the aerospace enterprise Polet).
In recent decades, when specialists have become seriously concerned about ensuring environmental safety, a technical renovation of production facilities has begun, the purpose of which is to reduce the level of atmospheric pollution by several times. However, the problem of chemical contamination of the soil cover and water bodies remains far from a final solution. Another urgent task, typical for the south of Siberia, is the fight against drought and desertification of lands, the result of which is constant dustiness in the air and even large-scale dust storms.
8. Angarsk
Angarsk (more than 200 thousand inhabitants) is a young Siberian city, the construction of which began in the second half of the 1940s. Now it is the center of petrochemical production, one of the three cities in Siberia with the most polluted atmosphere. The production facilities of the Angarsk electrolysis chemical plant pose a particular threat, where for decades (until the 1990s) installations for uranium enrichment and the production of uranium fluoride compounds operated; on the territory of the enterprise, along with the former workshops, abandoned and gradually collapsing storage facilities for radioactive waste are “fading”.
9. Novokuznetsk
The city of Novokuznetsk with a population of more than 550 thousand inhabitants is known as the center of the Kuznetsk coal basin (Kuzbass) and its own Novokuznetsk agglomeration with a total population of more than 1.3 million people. The objects of the coal-mining industry, metallurgy and a number of other industries are concentrated in the city; there are more than forty enterprises in Novokuznetsk. At the same time, ensuring environmental safety remains at an insufficient level, which affects not only the atmosphere, but also soils and local water bodies. A big problem is the pollution of the Tom River in the Novokuznetsk region, which poses a threat to the quality of drinking water.
10. Moscow
Despite the absence of large hazardous industrial enterprises, Moscow is one of the dirtiest cities in Russia and the world. More than 90% of all harmful substances in the Moscow atmosphere owe their origin to non-stationary sources, namely motor vehicles. When weather conditions do not allow gases to leave the city, the concentration of impurities can increase dramatically, forming smog.
For half a century, the number of cars in the city has increased by 30 - 40 times. According to the traffic police, in 2017, about five million cars were registered in the capital of the Russian Federation, and taking into account the car park of the region, it turns out more than 8 million on the territory of the Moscow region. These data indicate that ten Muscovites have an average of four cars. This number of vehicles annually provides the Moscow atmosphere with more than 1 million tons of exhaust gases, and this figure continues to increase every year.
Experts point to the use of electric transport as a possible way to overcome the problem of transport pollution, suggesting that residents of the largest cities use it as an alternative, but the corresponding infrastructure for its widespread use is still being prepared.
Progress gives the world innovative technologies. Opportunities and objects are constantly appearing that make life more convenient and dynamic. But there is a downside, a negative side - the most polluted cities in the world. Increasing the extraction of raw materials, increasing the scale of production and reducing its cost is detrimental to the environment. The ratings announced in this article will tell you where it is dangerous to live on earth.
Pollution Assessment Criteria
WHO, UNESCO are engaged in statistics of unfavorable ecology on the territory of the planet.
For this, the following criteria are used:
- the percentage of hazardous substances in the air, as well as in water and soil, among the most hazardous to health, such as mercury, arsenic, lead, hydrocyanic acid, mustard gas and phosgene;
- the duration of the decay period of toxic substances;
- number of population and births;
- the proximity of the city to the source of pollution;
- level of radioactive contamination;
- the impact of industrial emissions on the development of children.
Based on these factors, a rating of the most polluted places on the planet was compiled. The study of populated objects was carried out for each category. And then, according to a scale specially developed for this statistics, total indicators were determined.
Top 10 most environmentally polluted places on the planet
According to statistics from the analytical company MerserHuman from the USA, the list of the 10 most polluted cities in the world looks like this:
- Linfen is in China.
- Tien Yin is in China.
- Sukinda is in India.
- Vapi is in India.
- La Oroya is in Peru.
- Dzerzhinsk is in Russia.
- Norilsk is in Russia.
- Chernobyl is in Ukraine.
- Sumgayit is in Azerbaijan.
- Kabwe is in Zambia.
Settlements with a high level of environmental hazard:
- Bayos de Haina - in the Dominican Republic;
- Mailu Suu - in Kyrgyzstan;
- Ranipet - in India;
- Rudnaya Pristan - in Russia;
- Dalnegorsk - in Russia;
- Volgograd - in Russia;
- Magnitogorsk - in Russia;
- Karachay is in Russia.
The most environmentally polluted city in the world - Linfen
The population is 200,000 people. Leading in the world in all criteria of environmental pollution. This is the center of the coal mining industry, where, in addition to state, private and illegal mines operate.
Safety standards are ignored, which leads to a supersaturation of the air in the city and its environs with coal dust, organic chemicals, lead and carbon. The result of exposure to these substances is the progression of bronchopulmonary diseases - pneumonia, asthma, bronchitis, malignant tumors.
Other polluted cities in the world
It will be interesting to get acquainted with the settlements, which have been awarded the title of the most polluted places on the planet.
Tianying
It is called the heart of China's metallurgy. On the territory of the city there are many large industrial enterprises that emit dust, gas and heavy metal oxides into the atmosphere. Large-scale lead mining operations are carried out in the vicinity. Due to the thick gray smoke, there is no visibility at a distance of 10 meters. Soil, air and water are impregnated with lead fumes. Vegetables and signs grown in the surrounding areas contain 20 times more lead than normal. Such a critical situation leads to the development of brain pathologies. A large number of children with symptoms of dementia are born in the region.
There are chromium mines near Sukinda. This metal, widespread in production, is recognized as one of the most dangerous carcinogens. It has an extremely adverse effect on local residents, provoking gene mutations and rapidly progressing oncological diseases.
The Government of India does not take effective measures to reduce the concentration of chromium in water and soil. Treatment facilities in this region are under development.
vapi
A heavily polluted city in India is Vapi, which has a population of 71,000. Its proximity to a large industrial zone makes it life-threatening. There are many factories and plants for chemical and metallurgical purposes in the vicinity, emitting tons of harmful substances into the atmosphere. The main one is mercury, the content of which in the soil exceeded the figure by 100 times. The current situation has become fatal for the inhabitants of the region.
The average life expectancy here is only 35-40 years.
La Oroya
A polymetallic plant has been operating in the Peruvian town of La Oroya since 1922. Its intermittent emissions contain high concentrations of lead, sulfur dioxide, copper and zinc. This has caused serious illness among the local residents, whose number is 35,000.
The fallout of acid rain has led to the fact that the entire area has become dry and lifeless, devoid of vegetation. In 2009, the government of Peru was proposed a plan for a radical reconstruction of enterprises with the suspension of production for five years.
Russian Dzerzhinsk with a population of 300,000 in 2003 was included in the Guinness Book of Records. Received the title of the dirtiest city in the world. The cause of the critical situation was the disposal of chemicals, which lasted from 1938 to 1998. The total volume of deadly substances amounted to 300,000 tons, that is, one ton per inhabitant.
Soil and groundwater contain critical levels of phenol, 17 million times the upper limit of normal. At the moment, cleaning works in Dzerzhinsk are at the planning stage.
Norilsk
The population of this Russian city is 180 people. It is closed to foreigners. One of the largest metallurgical plants on the planet has been operating in Norilsk for several decades. Each year, up to 4 million tons of chemicals are released into the environment, including lead, arsenic, copper, selenium and zinc. In view of this, there is almost no vegetation and insects here.
Cleaning works have been carried out in Norilsk for 10 years. The ecological situation is gradually on the mend, however, the safe level of concentration of chemicals still exceeds the norm.
In the Ukrainian city of Chernobyl on April 26, 1986, the world's worst nuclear tragedy occurred - the explosion of a nuclear power plant. All residents were evacuated. Territory over 150,000 sq. m. was under the influence of a radioactive cloud, consisting of the evaporation of heavy metals, uranium, pluton, iodine and strontium.
The radiation level in the exclusion zone carries a mortal danger. This area is empty to this day.
Sumgayit
Under the Soviet Union, Azerbaijani Sumgayit occupied a central place in the chemical industry. Due to the constant emissions of mercury and oil products, the city of 285,000 people has become almost uninhabitable.
Kabwe
Large deposits of lead were discovered near the Zambian city of Kabwe more than a century ago. Since then, this mineral has been actively mined. The local population is 250,000 people. From the territories of lead mines, hazardous waste is constantly spreading into the air, soil and groundwater. This causes pathologies of internal organs, muscle atrophy and severe blood poisoning.
Baios de Haina
It is a small city in the Dominican Republic with a population of 85,000 people. The danger to health and life here is represented by a plant specializing in the production of car batteries. Lead emissions into the atmosphere are four times higher than the standard. The consequence of this are congenital mutations and mental disorders.
Mailu-Suu
In Mailu-Suu, located in Kyrgyzstan, during 1948-1968. mined uranium. Today, the level of radiation is 10 times higher than the normative indicators. The reason for the critical situation in the city and its environs are burial grounds with dangerous substances. Contrary to the warnings of scientists, they were built in areas of increased seismological danger. Due to earthquakes and landslides, burials are destroyed. The United States of America is involved in solving this problem. Work is underway.
The polluted cities considered in the article pose an environmental threat to the entire planet. Toxic components are spread due to air cyclones, soil migration and the natural water cycle. The problem requires an urgent solution at the global level.
The rating of the dirtiest cities in Russia is compiled annually by the federal ministry and leading environmental organizations. This is considered very important, because environmental pollution issues have recently played a big role. But not everyone knows that they have to live in dirty cities, usually due to large industrial plants that poison the air.
How are these rankings made?
In order to compile a list of dirty cities in Russia, a thorough analysis of the level of emissions of harmful substances into the atmosphere is being compiled at the Federal Ministry of Nature. According to the latest data, almost 16.5 million Russians now have to breathe polluted air. Such data are given in the report "On Environmental Protection".
The latest surveys of the dirtiest cities in Russia show that the total amount of emissions into the atmosphere amounted to 31.5 million tons, which is more than a percentage increase from a year earlier. Among the leading regions in terms of pollution level, Khabarovsk Krai, Buryatia, Taimyr Autonomous Okrug stand out. These regions are characterized by high levels of air pollution, which affects up to 75% of the inhabitants of large cities.
Among the leaders of this sad rating of dirty cities in Russia is the Moscow region, which is experiencing a strong environmental burden from a large number of vehicles. In the Moscow Region alone, emissions account for almost half of the level of all motor vehicle emissions in the Central Federal District and one eighth of the national value.
Rating leaders
The list of the dirtiest cities in Russia in 2017 is headed by Rudnaya Pristan. This is a settlement located in the Primorsky Territory. It is believed that about 90 thousand people are potentially infected in this city. The reason for this lies in the high emission of harmful substances into the atmosphere, primarily lead, mercury and cadmium.
Due to the increased level of pollution, local residents do not receive clean water, they cannot grow fruits and vegetables so that they can be safely eaten, they grow dangerous to health, as they contain a large amount of heavy metals.
All this is exacerbated by high levels of pollution. Harmful chemical elements are present in almost all resources that local residents are forced to use to fulfill their basic needs - these are soil, fauna, and water.
In second place in the list of dirty cities in Russia is Norilsk. This is a large industrial center, in which there is an exorbitant number of plants and factories, mainly they are engaged in the smelting of heavy metals. Because of their activity, a huge amount of harmful substances is in the air - these are strontium, copper, nickel.
In addition, it is very cold here, Norilsk is located in the Krasnoyarsk Territory. But even in winter, residents have to walk on snow, which is more like mud, and breathe air that has an obvious taste and smell of sulfur.
But even this is not the worst. This city has a very high mortality rate, and life expectancy is significantly lower than the national average.
There are no tourists here, because even a short stay in Norilsk can lead to negative health consequences. It is here that the most sulfate-contaminated precipitation is recorded.
On the third line of the list of dirty cities in Russia is Dzerzhinsk, located in the Nizhny Novgorod region. Once it was a key center in the country for the manufacture of chemical weapons. But after tons of chemical waste were illegally written off and thrown into the waters, the situation changed dramatically.
But even here the difficult ecological situation remains. Indigenous people almost never manage to live to old age. There is a really frightening average life expectancy here: among men it is 42 years, and for women a little more - 47 years. But the death rate in the city exceeds the birth rate by more than two and a half times. In the future, the situation does not look rosy, remaining the same depressing.
Winter
In fourth place in the list of the dirtiest cities in Russia is a settlement with the amazing name Zima in the Irkutsk region. The degree of air pollution here is very high. The complex air pollution index is one of the highest in the country.
The basis of the city's economy is formed by the enterprises of railway transport and the chemical industry, because of them such a high level of pollution persists. In Zima there is a wagon and locomotive depot, track distances and communications. But the greatest damage is caused by the Ziminsky chemical plant, which today is called the Sayanskkhimplast open joint-stock company, and private sawmilling and woodworking enterprises operating on the basis of the former LDK and reinforced concrete plants also cause environmental damage.
Bratsk
A high level of pollution is also observed in the city of Bratsk, Irkutsk Region. This is the fifth place in the rating of dirty cities in Russia. The ecology here is damaged, mainly due to the high content of benzapyrene in the atmosphere. This is an extremely harmful chemical compound that is formed during the combustion of absolutely any type of fossil fuel. It is in Bratsk that the highest level of this substance is recorded.
The culprits of the high levels of pollution in this city are large industrial enterprises. These are a ferroalloy plant, an aluminum plant, a timber industry complex, the Irkutskenergo thermal power plant, and flattering fires that last from two weeks to several months, engulfing spring and summer, make their contribution.
According to local environmental organizations, the exorbitant content of formaldehyde, hydrogen sulfide, and hydrogen fluoride in the atmosphere is recorded here. A big, but so far only potential danger is the chlorine plant. Energy, non-ferrous metallurgy, timber processing complexes and vehicles also heavily pollute the atmosphere.
An unfavorable ecological situation is also created due to the unfavorable wind rose, in which the southern, western and southwestern winds play a dominant role. Namely, in these directions from Bratsk itself, the majority of hazardous industries are located.
It should be noted that earlier the situation with the wind rose was different. Before the filling of the Bratsk reservoir, they were directed in exactly the opposite direction, and therefore they chose a site for the construction of residential areas, which would be outside the zone of potential pollution. But now everything has changed.
To counter pollution in Bratsk, a large-scale environmental program is being developed. The largest and most harmful enterprises in the city spend several billion rubles on environmental protection enterprises. In parallel, research work is being carried out. Scientists are trying to establish the share of vehicle emissions in total pollution. The environmental prosecutor's office is doing a lot of work.
Minusinsk and Magnitogorsk
In the first city, environmentalists and employees of the Ministry of Natural Resources noted a high concentration of benzapyrene, as well as suspended solids and nitrogen dioxide. A similar situation persists throughout the Krasnoyarsk Territory, where the volume of pollutants in the air per year exceeds two and a half million tons.
In Magnitogorsk, the level of such a dangerous benzapyrene is 23 times higher than the norm. Perhaps the greatest contribution to air pollution is made by the metallurgical plant. The enterprise emits into the air a huge amount of iron oxide, nitrogen dioxide, suspended solids, formaldehyde, lead, carbon monoxide, hydrogen sulfide and phenol.
Novokuznetsk
Among the most environmentally polluted cities in Russia, Novokuznetsk, which is located in the Kemerovo region, is always called. This is one of the largest industrial centers of the country, in which up to 310 thousand tons of harmful substances are in the air per year.
Almost all emissions come from metallurgical enterprises, which are plentiful here, as in Magnitogorsk. Basically, the atmosphere is polluted by coal mines, a metallurgical plant.
Asbestos
Asbest is a very small city by Russian standards. It is located on the territory of the Sverdlovsk region, only 68 thousand people live there. At the same time, up to 330,000 tons of substances hazardous to human life and health are in the air every year. It is easy to guess that the city owes its name to the largest enterprises that extract and process asbestos. There is also a large-scale and harmful production of silicate bricks.
Especially dangerous is asbestos dust, which is classified as the first class of environmental hazard.
Cherepovets
"City of metallurgists" - so called Cherepovets in the Vologda region. This is the center of the Russian ferrous metallurgy, in which more than 360 thousand tons of harmful and hazardous substances are released into the atmosphere every year.
It is here that the second largest, and hence the level of pollution, metallurgical plant in the country, which is owned by Severstal, is located. There are also such dangerous enterprises as Ammophos and Azot.
Moscow
In the Russian capital, although there are no large industrial facilities, it still constantly falls into the number of the most unfavorable cities in terms of ecology.
93% of the harmful substances that are released into the air here come from cars, the amount of which is simply huge here. Worst of all, the amount of emissions into the atmosphere is increasing every day.
Omsk
Omsk is the largest city after Moscow, which invariably falls into the category of cities with unfavorable environmental conditions.
This is a large industrial center, which began to develop shortly after the end of the Great Patriotic War. It was here that many large industrial enterprises were evacuated from the European part of the country, where the war was fought. The level of hazardous substances that end up in the air every year is more than 290,000 tons.
Basically, chemical enterprises operate here, as well as companies associated with the aerospace industry and metallurgy.
Since time immemorial, mankind has been worried about the end of the world. When will it come and what will it be? What will happen to the planet? Now, looking at the creations of their own hands, people understand that the consequences of environmental pollution will lead to the apocalypse.
Global warming, caused by huge emissions of harmful gases into the atmosphere, has led to horrific disasters. Scientists predict that in some 200-300 years, many large cities will go under water, productivity will drop to the limit, and diseases will begin to mow down peoples around the world. But until this happens, we can still at least change something. Think about it, maybe you live in the dirtiest cities in Russia.
Norilsk has been called the dirtiest city in Russia for many years. It is also one of the ten most life-threatening places on the planet. Almost 2,000,000 tons of harmful substances enter the atmosphere here. In fact, half of the periodic table is just up in the air.
The main damage to the environment is caused by the Norilsk Nickel mining and smelting plant. By the way, the population of the city does not exceed 177,000 people. All these hard workers account for 2% of harmful substances in the world, which cannot but terrify. It is not surprising that the soil, frankly, is scorched around the city for several kilometers. Where poisonous gases have not reached, the townspeople go to rest and restore their health. However, soon that small part of the wild nature will also disappear due to the obscene attitude of man towards his home.
If you ask a simple Russian where everyone wants to get to the Russian Federation, he will answer: “Of course, to Moscow.” Indeed, the capital, like rubber, receives guests from different countries. Many want to live and work here. However, not everyone understands that due to the endless flow of cars, Moscow is considered the second dirtiest city in Russia. 996,000 tons of harmful emissions consist of 93% of toxic substances that enter the air from vehicles. Exhausts poison the atmosphere more and more, which leads to an increase in the percentage of cancer patients.
One of the most beautiful cities in Russia is the third in the ranking for pollution. A huge number of people live in St. Petersburg and the region, who go to work every day, rush to meetings and visit friends. All of them, along with the crowds of tourists, mostly travel by cars, which pollute the air of this wonderful old city. 488,000 tons of poison fill the clouds every year and seep into the atmosphere. About 85% of all harmful substances come out of the exhaust pipes of vehicles scurrying through the streets of the metropolis. From that, the percentage of pollution is inexorably growing in St. Petersburg from year to year.
Another giant was included in the ranking of the most polluted cities in Russia. Glorious Cherepovets is known all over the country thanks to its metallurgical plant from the company Severstal. The city also has a well-developed chemical industry represented by the monsters Nitrogen and Ammophos. An incredible amount of emissions go into the sky. About 365,000 tons of poison for all living things are purposefully thrown into the atmosphere by people. Not surprisingly, there are a lot of cancer patients in such places of residence.
