Large parts of Yellow River unfit for industrial use or agriculture

The Nature blog Great Beyond Bleak outlook for Yellow River

A Chinese official has confirmed that pollution has now rendered a third of the Yellow River unfit for any use.

According to state news agency Xinhua, the Yellow River Conservancy Committee has reported that 4,557.6 km of the river and its tributaries’ total 13,492.7 km length is classified as ‘type-five negative’ polluted. Only 2,174 km was type one or two, and therefore suitable for drinking.

AP explains that registering below level five means “it’s unfit for drinking, aquaculture, industrial use and even agriculture, according to criteria used by the United Nations Environmental Program”.

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