<p>River Ravi in Pakistan is the most polluted river in the world, followed by water bodies in Bolivia and Ethiopia, a US-based research academy has said, warning that local populations in these areas are exposed to serious risks.</p>.<p>In its study, the University of York monitored 1,052 sampling sites along 258 rivers in 104 countries across all continents to quantify the presence of pharmaceutical ingredients - paracetamol, nicotine, caffeine and epilepsy and diabetes drugs - in these ecological environments, the Dawn newspaper reported on Wednesday.</p>.<p>The study concluded that contaminants in surface water posed a threat to environmental and/or human health in more than a quarter of the studied locations globally - mainly in sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia, and South America.</p>.<p>The highest mean cumulative concentration was observed in Lahore, capital of Pakistan's Punjab province, at 70.8 µg/L, with one sampling site on the Ravi River reaching a maximum cumulative concentration of 189 µg/L.</p>.<p>This was followed by La Paz river in Bolivia (68.9 µg/L mean, 297 µg/L maximum) and the river system in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia (51.3 µg/L mean, 74.2 µg/L maximum), according to the study.</p>.<p>The most common contaminants were paracetamol, nicotine, caffeine and epilepsy and diabetes drugs in the river, according to the study which was published in the journal of Washington-based National Academy of Sciences.</p>.<p>Rivers in Iceland, Norway and the Amazon rainforest were recorded as the cleanest.</p>.<p>The findings of the University of York's research came as a shock to the environmentalists and local administration of Lahore - which in 2021 earned the ignominious title of the world's most polluted (air) city by leading air quality monitoring company, IQAir.</p>.<p>Speaking to Dawn News, environmentalist Afia Salam said river Ravi, a transboundary river of India and Pakistan, had been turned into a drain. “We have laws about dumping wastewater and industrial wastage but no law is being implemented in the country,” she told the newspaper.</p>.<p><strong>Watch latest videos by DH here:</strong></p>
<p>River Ravi in Pakistan is the most polluted river in the world, followed by water bodies in Bolivia and Ethiopia, a US-based research academy has said, warning that local populations in these areas are exposed to serious risks.</p>.<p>In its study, the University of York monitored 1,052 sampling sites along 258 rivers in 104 countries across all continents to quantify the presence of pharmaceutical ingredients - paracetamol, nicotine, caffeine and epilepsy and diabetes drugs - in these ecological environments, the Dawn newspaper reported on Wednesday.</p>.<p>The study concluded that contaminants in surface water posed a threat to environmental and/or human health in more than a quarter of the studied locations globally - mainly in sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia, and South America.</p>.<p>The highest mean cumulative concentration was observed in Lahore, capital of Pakistan's Punjab province, at 70.8 µg/L, with one sampling site on the Ravi River reaching a maximum cumulative concentration of 189 µg/L.</p>.<p>This was followed by La Paz river in Bolivia (68.9 µg/L mean, 297 µg/L maximum) and the river system in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia (51.3 µg/L mean, 74.2 µg/L maximum), according to the study.</p>.<p>The most common contaminants were paracetamol, nicotine, caffeine and epilepsy and diabetes drugs in the river, according to the study which was published in the journal of Washington-based National Academy of Sciences.</p>.<p>Rivers in Iceland, Norway and the Amazon rainforest were recorded as the cleanest.</p>.<p>The findings of the University of York's research came as a shock to the environmentalists and local administration of Lahore - which in 2021 earned the ignominious title of the world's most polluted (air) city by leading air quality monitoring company, IQAir.</p>.<p>Speaking to Dawn News, environmentalist Afia Salam said river Ravi, a transboundary river of India and Pakistan, had been turned into a drain. “We have laws about dumping wastewater and industrial wastage but no law is being implemented in the country,” she told the newspaper.</p>.<p><strong>Watch latest videos by DH here:</strong></p>