New Delhi: According to a study named 'Litterbase' conducted by the Alfred Wegner Institute in Germany, the coastline along Kerala is the most polluted globally. The study collated 1237 study reports on marine pollution to draw up the startling statistics.
According to the study the coastlines along Mumbai, particularly Juhu, Dadar, Aksa and Versova beaches and the Andaman nd Nicobar islands are also highly polluted. The Vembanad lake is extremely critical with no portion of it being free of micro plastics. The fish captured from Alappuzha were found to contain plastic remains in them. The mussels and other shell fishes were also affected. With immensely high levels of pollution the coast has become a dangerous site for the migratory birds and marine fish life.
In Mumbai one square metre was found to have at least 70 different types of pollutants. Of this 41.5 % are plastics. Dumping of disposables along the beaches and household garbage has literally thrown the coasts out of balance. Plastic was recovered from a whale's stomach in Diu. The far away islands on the Indian ocean were also not spared. The lakes of the Tibetan plateau were also found to be highly polluted by plastics. The study has drawn up maps of the world including that of Australia, Africa, Europe and America.
The world together dumps 80 lakh tonnes of garbage into the seas every year. The majority of the dumped waste is plastic polymers, plastic bags, cool drink bottles and food waste. This creates a combined loss of Rs. 83, 915 crores in a year. 34% of tested animals had traces of plastic in them. 1220 species of marine life are directly threatened by such high levels of pollution.
