Top 10 Most Polluted Cities In The World

While vast advancements in technology and industry have made life much easier, these innovations have also created an ever-growing monster  pollution.Nevertheless, there are cities all over the planet that have really outdone themselves when it comes to being polluted. Now here we are going to see the Top 10 most polluted cities in the world.
Let's check out who's No.1 .

10. Kabwe, Zambia

Kabwe is in 10th place , Ever since the year 1902, when lead deposits were discovered near the city, little attention has been given to how the dangerous metal might affect the Zambians. Lead levels in kids are high enough to be fatal, or at the very least, result to serious health conditions. Thankfully, a $40 million-project might start cleaning the place up soon.

9. Sumgayit, Azerbaijan

Sumgayit was a major Soviet industrial center housing more than 40 factories manufacturing industrial and agricultural chemicals. These included synthetic rubber, chlorine, aluminium, detergents, and pesticides. While the factories remained fully operational, 70 to 120,000 tons of harmful emissions were released into the air annually , Though a lot of the factories are not operating anymore , the pollutants they emitted before they were shut down are still present in the air up to this day.  On top of it all, no one is willing to take responsibility for the 120,000 tons of toxic emissions that continue to plague the city.

8. Norilsk, Russia

An industrial city founded in 1935 as a slave labor camp, the Siberian city of Norilsk, Russia is the northernmost major city of Russia and the second largest city (after Murmansk) above the Arctic Circle.Can you guess how much zinc, arsenic, lead, cadmium, selenium, nickel, and copper is released yearly into the air of Norilsk? Well, there’s no exact amount, but it’s estimated to be over 4 million ton.As per the estimation Potentially affected people 1,34,000.Children in Norilsk are suffering from respiratory diseases, along with ear, nose and throat diseases.

7. Chernobyl, Ukraine

You probably thought that the Hiroshima and Nagasaki nuclear bombings led to the worst radiation fallout known to mankind. If so, then you haven’t heard how Chernobyl managed to top that fallout at least a hundred times more, In 1986 , April 26 , A worst  nuclear disaster took place  when testing in the Chernobyl power plant, 62 miles north of Kiev, triggered a fiery meltdown of the reactor's core. Thirty people were killed in the accident, 135,000 were evacuated,Here Initially affected people that  estimated as 5.5 million, currently disputed. Many abandoned mentally and physically handicapped children are being found and taken in by orphanages.Over 4,000 Ukrainian, Belarusian, and Russian kids in the fallout area have been diagnosed with thyroid cancer. 

6. Dzerzhinsk, Russia

Throughout the Soviet period, Dzershinsk was one of Russia’s principle sites of chemical manufacturing, including chemical weapons. Today, it is still a significant center of Russian chemical industry. Between 1930 and 1998, an estimated 300,000 tons of chemical wastes were improperly land filled in Dzershinsk and the surrounding areas,If you plan to live to a ripe old age, you probably shouldn’t take up residence in Dzerzhinsk, as the average life expectancy in this Russian city is quite low. Men usually die at the age of 42, while women don’t live much longer than 47,This Russian city holds a Guinness Record for being the most polluted city in the world.From this city, around 190 identified chemicals were released into the groundwater. In 2007

From here let's see the top most 5 cities .

5. La Oroya, Peru

A mining city situation in the Peruvian Andes, La Oroya is host to numerous processing plants and heavy metal mines. On the whole, residents of the city have an average lead level that’s 3 times higher than the WHO-established limit. 99%  of children living in and around La Oroya have blood lead levels that exceed acceptable limits, according to studies carried out by the Director General of Environmental Health in Peru in 1999.

(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

4. Vapi, India

Vapi, an industrial town in south Gujarat, has topped the list of critically polluted areas in the country, reveals the new Comprehensive Environmental Pollution Index (CEPI) score interim report, released by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB). The finding belies all claims made by the state pollution control board and industry on working tirelessly to implement mitigation action plan since CEPI score was first released in 2009. Vapi ranked second in the 2009 list. It's a  only city whose waters and lands are highly contaminated with harmful chemicals and metals. Its groundwater reportedly contains mercury, the level of which is 96 times higher than what’s considered safe by the World Health Organization. Repeated exposure to mercury over a long period of time can lead to scores of medical conditions such as muscle weakness, impaired peripheral vision, and other neurological deficits

3. Sukinda, India

Sukinda Valley, in the State of Orissa, contains 97% of India's chromite ore deposits and one of the largest open cast chromite ore mines in the world. Twelve mines continue to operate without any environmental management plans and over 30 million tons of waste rock are spread over the surrounding areas and the Brahmani riverbanks. Untreated water is discharged by the mines into the river,Approximately 70% of the surface water and 60% of the drinking water contains hexavalent chromium at more than double national and international standards and levels of over 20 times the standard have been recorded,

It is believed that exposure to the air, soil, and waters near the city’s mines have caused different types of cancer to an estimated 2.6 million people. If that’s not enough to get the world’s attention and spark some alarm, nothing is, An Indian health group estimated that 84.75% of deaths in the mining areas — where regulations are nonexistent —are due to chromite-related diseases and Women workers are exposed to contaminated dust and water. Common ailments are gastrointestinal bleeding, tuberculosis and asthma.

2. Tianying, China

Tianying in Anhui province is one of the largest lead production bases in China, with an output accounting for half of the country's total production. Low-level technologies, illegal operation and the lack of any serious pollution control measures in the firms have caused several severe lead poisoning cases in the region.Its previously fertile soils are now steeped in lead, and its inhabitants are now at great risk for developing lead-associated health problems. These illnesses can be anything from irritability to dullness, to hallucinations, and even to memory loss. Too bad the only people who seem to pay attention to the problem are the ones who are already suffering from it.An estimated count that people have been affected in this city nearly 1,40,000.

(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

1. Linfen, China

With approximately 3 million people of its residents affected by the pollution problem, the city of Linfen in China is perhaps the most polluted city in the world. Shanxi Province is at the heart of China's enormous and expanding coal industry, providing about two thirds of the nation's energy. Within this highly polluted region, Linfen has been identified as one of its most polluted cities with residents claiming that they literally choke on coal dust in the evenings.

The hills surrounding the Chinese city are peppered with tons of coal mines, legal as well as illegal. One simply can’t sniff the air without smelling the odor of burning coal.  Furthermore, the pollution is so great that if you hang your laundry, you’ll find that your clothes turn black even before they dry. Due to China’s demand for coal,  70% of Chinese cities do not meet air quality ratings.  Coal production in Linfen looks like it may continue until it is physically impossible to live and work there.

Type of pollutants are Fly-ash, carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides, PM-2.5, PM-10, sulfur dioxide, volatile organic compounds, arsenic, lead.

(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Here I Conclude that  everything should be done to help these highly polluted cities wake up to the problem and do something to resolve it. The safety and health of present and future generations are at stake.