PICTURE CHINA

As a result of the rapid industrialization of the past decades and loose regulations on emissions, China has become one of the world’s biggest polluters. In fact, a recent study by the World Bank found that China was home to sixteen of the twenty most polluted cities in the world.

China’s pollution is having a devastating impact on its citizens. An estimated 300,000 people die each year as a result of respiratory illnesses caused by air pollution and most of China’s waterways are heavily polluted from the dumping of untreated human waste as well as toxic waste from coal and chemical plants. Half of the country’s population has to contend with contaminated drinking water and acid rain is having a negative impact on crop yields in many areas. Meanwhile, clouds of smog envelope many of China’s cities making blue skies a thing of the past.

The main cause of China’s pollution problem is the heavy consumption of coal which is used for everything from creating electricity to cooking and heating in Chinese homes. With a growing number of vehicles on the road, expanding urban populations all over the country and new factories opening daily, pollution seems to be a problem that will get worse before it gets better.