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Dive into the shocking stories of the world's most polluted rivers—where foam, plastics, and wild colors are just the start! From India to Argentina, see how these waterways went from lifelines to trouble zones, and find out if there's still hope for a comeback. Love crazy facts and real talk about our planet? Hit subscribe and tell us in the comments which river blew your mind! #nature #environment #rivers #pollution #facts
👉 This channel was created in collaboration with https://www.youtube.com/@noelpolotv
0:00 - Introduction to Polluted Rivers
1:15 - Yamuna River: Pollution in Delhi
2:36 - Ciliwung River: Jakarta’s Pollution Crisis
3:57 - Matanza Riachuelo: Argentinian Industrial Waste
5:26 - Nile River: Hidden Threats in Egypt
6:49 - Buriganga River: Industrial and Urban Pollution
8:39 - Yangtze River: Industry and Species Loss
10:21 - Other Major Rivers and Conclusion
👉 This channel was created in collaboration with https://www.youtube.com/@noelpolotv
0:00 - Introduction to Polluted Rivers
1:15 - Yamuna River: Pollution in Delhi
2:36 - Ciliwung River: Jakarta’s Pollution Crisis
3:57 - Matanza Riachuelo: Argentinian Industrial Waste
5:26 - Nile River: Hidden Threats in Egypt
6:49 - Buriganga River: Industrial and Urban Pollution
8:39 - Yangtze River: Industry and Species Loss
10:21 - Other Major Rivers and Conclusion
Category
🐳
AnimalsTranscript
00:00There are rivers with water in seemingly impossible colors, places where massive chunks of foam
00:07cover the surface, and rivers where tons and tons of plastic flow between ships, houses,
00:13and factories. In some parts, the pollution is so severe that even the riverbed has become
00:21one of the biggest environmental problems for the city it flows through. Dirty water, chemicals,
00:28heavy metals, and household trash end up in the rivers that provide water for millions of people.
00:37Some of these rivers flow through major capitals, while others travel thousands of kilometers before
00:43finally reaching the sea, carrying the pollution even farther from its source.
00:51In this video, we will look into 10 of the world's most polluted rivers,
00:56rivers, and how these once magnificent waterways ended up in such dire conditions.
01:04But before we begin, if you're new to our channel, please click the subscribe button,
01:09and turn on the notification bell so you'll always stay updated on our latest videos.
01:15Yamuna River, India. In Northern India, the Yamuna River stretches over a thousand kilometers,
01:21years, and holds a sacred place in Hinduism. As it enters Delhi, in the Pala area the water
01:28condition is still fairly decent and has enough oxygen, but it changes drastically once it passes
01:34through the capital. Drains from the city, sewage, and industrial waste gradually worsen the river's condition.
01:44In some parts, the dissolved oxygen needed for aquatic life to survive is almost completely gone.
01:52Official measurements from 2025 showed just how severe the problem had become.
01:58In the Nizamuddin area, around 790,000 fecal coliforms were recorded per 100 milliliters of water.
02:07This was massive compared to the 2500 benchmark for water quality. Every day, billions of liters of
02:16wastewater are generated in Delhi, and a huge portion of it continues to end up in the river or the
02:22drainage
02:22network without adequate treatment. One of the most famous sites on the Yamuna can be seen near Okla,
02:30where huge clusters of white foam can cover the surface of the river.
02:37The Siliwang River originates in the mountains of Bogor and flows through Jakarta before finally
02:42reaching the Java Sea. For centuries, it has been an essential part of the city's life. During the Dutch
02:51era, its course was altered and canals were built for the construction of Batavia, the former name of
02:57Jakarta modeled after European city designs. However, this system was not suitable for a
03:04tropical environment. The canals gradually filled with mud and garbage while the river continued to flood
03:11during the rainy season. In 2007, large parts of Jakarta were flooded and many lives were lost. As the city
03:19continued to expand, another problem worsened. Because the river flows through densely populated areas,
03:26a large amount of trash and wastewater from the communities ends up in it. In 2018, a group of
03:34scientists began measuring the amount of plastic passing through the river. Based on their observations,
03:40it reached approximately 20,000 pieces of plastic waste can pass into the ocean every hour. Most of this trash
03:48gets washed away faster during the rainy season, along with rising water and the river overflowing in parts of the
03:56city.
03:57Matanza Riachuelo, Argentina. To the south of Buenos Aires, the Matanza Riachuelo River flows,
04:04serving as part of the border between the capital and the province of Buenos Aires. It originates in the
04:11countryside of Buenos Aires. The river runs through 14 municipalities in the greater Buenos Aires area,
04:18and in the final stretch of its course, it is called the Riachuelo before finally flowing into the
04:23Rio de la Plata. Pollution has long been a problem here. Ever since the 19th century, its banks have been
04:31filled with slaughterhouses, tanneries, and factories. Many businesses use the river as an outlet for dumping
04:39their waste. This was further worsened by wastewater from sewers without adequate treatment and garbage in
04:47open areas. The result was black water almost devoid of oxygen and contaminated with heavy metals like
04:54lead and chromium. The impact was most severe on communities that have long lived near the river.
05:02Because of this, residents took the problem to court. In 2008, the Supreme Court of Argentina ordered the
05:10cleanup and rehabilitation of the entire river basin. There have been changes and cleanup projects,
05:17but it still remains one of the rivers with severe pollution.
05:26In northeastern Africa, the Nile River travels thousands of kilometers before finally reaching the
05:32Mediterranean Sea. But in Egypt, the country's relationship with the river became even more critical.
05:38It is estimated that a large portion of Egypt's freshwater resources depends on the Nile,
05:44and most of the country's population, agriculture, and industries are centered around it.
05:50As the Nile flows through Egypt, it receives wastewater, water from agricultural drains containing
05:56fertilizers, and effluents from industrial zones. In the Nile Delta, the canals and drainage systems carry
06:03some of the pollutants toward the Rosetta and Damietta branches of the river before finally reaching the
06:09Mediterranean Sea, and a large part of the problem is not readily visible to the naked eye.
06:15A 2024 study found approximately 2.24 to 3.76 microplastic particles per liter in water samples from the Nile.
06:28Furthermore, other types of pollution were also identified in sediments and aquatic organisms.
06:34The river that served as the foundation for one of the world's oldest civilizations remains Egypt's
06:41primary water source. Yet at the same time, the waste generated by the millions of people who depend
06:46on Egypt itself continues to end up here. River for Survival
06:51Buriganga River, Bangladesh. In the central part of Bangladesh, south of Dhaka, flows the Buriganga River.
07:00For centuries, it has been the city's main thoroughfare. Ships and goods pass through here,
07:07while the river has also become an essential part of life for the people living around it. Back then,
07:13its water was clean enough to serve as the capital's water source. But now, it looks completely different.
07:21It has now become a black, murky river with a stench that can be smelled even from a distance.
07:27One of the biggest reasons for this is the tanneries or leather factories.
07:32For decades, hundreds of leather factories were packed into Hazaribag, near the banks of the river.
07:39The factories dumped their waste directly into the river, mixed with chromium, lead, and other chemicals.
07:46In 2017, the government forced the tanneries to move out of the city. But the damage people caused by dumping
07:55waste was already massive, and the pollutants left in the river didn't just disappear. On top of that,
08:02there's wastewater from one of the most densely populated places in the world, as well as massive
08:08amounts of plastic waste. At the bottom of the river, huge amounts of polyethylene and other garbage
08:14accumulate. So even though dredging is done regularly, it cannot completely solve the problem.
08:22When the water flow is low, the river's oxygen levels drop to nearly zero in some parts.
08:30Despite this, thousands of people still use the river every day to bathe, do laundry,
08:36and travel around the city. Yangtze River, China. The Yangtze is the longest river in Asia.
08:45It originates in the Tibetan Plateau and travels more than 6,000 kilometers across China before finally
08:51flowing into the East China Sea near Shanghai. Its basin provides water for hundreds of millions of
08:58people and is at the center of a large part of China's economy, but this has come at a great
09:03cost.
09:04Along with the rapid development of China's industry, thousands of chemical plants,
09:10textile factories, and steel mills were built along the river. Many of the factories released
09:16wastewater into the river, and in past decades, not all of it went through adequate treatment.
09:22This was further worsened by pesticides from farmlands and wastewater from large cities.
09:28One of the most well-known victims of the changes in the Yangtze is the Baiji, a freshwater dolphin that
09:35has long inhabited the river. Pollution, heavy ship traffic, and several destructive fishing methods are
09:42among the problems affecting the species. In 2006, after an extensive survey was completed,
09:51no remaining Baiji could be confirmed in the river. In recent years, China has implemented stricter measures
09:58to reduce pollution. They shut down several factories that were heavily polluting the environment,
10:04and also implemented a 10-year fishing ban across a large part of the Yangtze basin.
10:09Because of this, some fish species have begun to recover, but the Yangtze still continues to face
10:16pollution from industries and other human activities.
10:21Coom River, India
10:24In southern India, the Coom River spans approximately 65 kilometers before emptying into the Bay of Bengal,
10:31but its biggest problem begins once it enters Chennai. As the city grew,
10:37a large portion of the Coom River's flow became an outlet for wastewater, garbage, and other sewage
10:44from a city inhabited by millions of people. Because of this, the once vital river has become one of the
10:51prime examples of severe pollution in India's urban waterways. The data shows just how drastic the
10:58change in its condition has been. India's Central Pollution Control Board classified a stretch of the
11:05Kumwurm River as priority won the highest and most severe pollution category. In some tests,
11:13the Biochemical Oxygen Demand, or BOD, reached 180mg per liter. This means there is an extremely high
11:22amount of organic waste in the water requiring oxygen to decompose. Aside from this, there are other
11:28pollutants such as heavy metals. In a study conducted across 27 different locations, high levels of lead,
11:36chromium, nickel, cadmium, and other elements were found. For many years, Chennai has been implementing
11:43drainage systems and wastewater interception projects to reduce the direct flow of polluted
11:49water into the river. There are also projects for its rehabilitation and restoration. But the Coom River
11:56remains a clear example of how the rapid growth of a large city can transform a river.
12:02Pasig River, Philippines on Luzon. The Pasig River runs right through the heart of Metro Manila. It is
12:10approximately 27 kilometers long and connects Laguna de Bay to Manila Bay. For many years, it served as a
12:19vital trade route for the city from the colonial era through the mid-20th century. Back then, people
12:28bathed in the river, washed clothes, and fished in its waters. But as Manila grew, factories and families
12:36lining its banks multiplied as well. Many of these areas had no proper sanitation systems. By the 1950s,
12:45people had started avoiding swimming in the river. And by the 1980s, fish were virtually gone in some
12:51parts and the stench became unbearable. In 1990, the Pasig River was declared biologically dead due to
12:59severe pollution and the lack of sufficient oxygen to support aquatic life. A large part of the
13:06pollution came from households, seawater, domestic waste, and various types of trash, including a
13:12massive amount of small plastic sachets and bags. Since then, various programs have been carried out
13:19to clean up and revive the river. Thousands of families were relocated from areas right along the
13:25riverbanks. Millions of tons of garbage were removed, and some species of fish and birds began to return.
13:32But even with the improvements, the water quality remains a problem in many parts of the Pasig River.
13:39Rio de la Plata, Argentina and Uruguay
13:42Between Argentina and Uruguay lies the Rio de la Plata, an enormous estuary formed by the confluence of
13:49the Parana and Uruguay rivers. It is so wide that across many stretches, you can't even see the other
13:55shore. On its opposite banks lie two capital cities, Buenos Aires in Argentina and Montevideo
14:03in Uruguay. Because of its immense size, the problem in some of its areas might not be immediately
14:08noticeable. But on the Argentine side, there are areas that have experienced severe pollution from
14:14the Parana Delta to Punta Indio, and in places close to Buenos Aires, Quilmes, and La Plata, there are
14:20stretches of water that have taken in massive amounts of industrial and urban pollution. This is
14:26where wastewater, industrial discharge, and other pollutants mix together before completely spreading
14:31across the vast estuary. This is where sewage from millions of people ends up, along with discharge
14:37from industries, cold storage facilities, and hydrocarbon residues. This is also where a river
14:44considered among the most heavily polluted on the continent flows. Due to the estuary's shape,
14:49the currents push a large portion of the pollution back toward the coast. Because of this, swimming has
14:55long been prohibited along a large part of the Buenos Aires coast. And every summer, as temperatures rise,
15:03another threat emerges, cyanobacteria. These microorganisms can multiply due to excess
15:10nutrients and water pollution. When they multiply excessively, they can turn the water green and
15:16produce toxins that can pose a health risk. Because of this, health alerts have to be issued in some
15:23parts of the coast. Sitaram River, Indonesia, on the island of Java, Indonesia, the Sitaram River originates
15:32in the mountains and flows for approximately 300 kilometers before reaching the Java Sea. It is one of
15:38the most important rivers in the region. Millions of people rely on it for water, rice paddy irrigation,
15:45and electricity generation. But a huge problem is happening along its banks. Hundreds of factories
15:52surround the river, especially textile factories that produce clothes for brands from all over the world.
15:59Many of these factories have long been linked to such practices. They dump wastewater into the river
16:05without adequate treatment. Residents also say the water changes color depending on the dye used by
16:10the factories. On top of that, sewage and garbage from the communities also end up in the river.
16:16In some areas, it got to the point where the water's surface was almost completely covered in trash.
16:23In 2018, the Indonesian government launched a massive cleanup program for the Sitaram River with the
16:29support of the military. One of the program's goals was to significantly improve the water quality in the
16:36coming years. A lot of trash was removed from the river, but cleaning it up remains a huge challenge.
16:42Problems caused by wastewater and illegal discharges still persist.
16:47Ten rivers, ten different places in the world, but the story is almost the same. For centuries,
16:56these rivers were the heart of their cities. They provided water, food, jobs, and routes for trade.
17:04But as cities grew rapidly, many of these rivers ended up like drainage systems for the very
17:11communities that depended on them. The problem stems from various causes. There are factories discharging
17:20waste entire communities without proper sewage systems and laws that may exist on paper but aren't
17:27always properly enforced. And a large portion of the products manufactured near these rivers, such as
17:35clothing, leather products, and plastics also end up in stores and with consumers all over the world.
17:44But this doesn't mean there's no hope. The Pasig River, which was once declared biologically dead,
17:51has seen the return of some fish species and other wildlife.
17:56As for the Yangtze River, there are signs that the ecosystem is improving following years of stricter
18:03protection and fishing bands across parts of the basin. This shows that it's still possible for a
18:10river to recover, but the process is long, difficult, and expensive. Do you know any of the rivers we
18:17mentioned? Which of these surprised you the most with its level of pollution? Just comment your answers
18:23down below. I will read your comments. And if you liked this video, don't forget to subscribe to Noel Polo
18:31Television. For more stories and information about the hidden parts of our planet.
18:36Join us in the next video. Until next time.
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