River pollution, melting glaciers, smog in cities - in the Forbes photo gallery

The 21st Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change will be held in Paris from November 30 to December 11. A new climate agreement should be signed at the conference, which will come into force in 2020. It will replace the Kyoto Protocol, the cornerstone of the current international climate regime. Participants at the climate summit will be faced with the question of maintaining the environmental situation in the world, which has deteriorated significantly in recent years.

*Photo by REUTERS · Nacho Doce*
In the photo: November 2014. Consequences of the worst drought in 80 years in Brazil.

The Kyoto Protocol, signed in 1997, established specific limits on greenhouse gas emissions for developed countries and countries with economies in transition. However, the protocol did not include any obligations for developing countries. Namely, they - especially China and India - have come to the fore in terms of greenhouse gas emissions. As a result, although developed countries and countries with economies in transition collectively even exceeded their obligations, global emissions increased 2.5 times from 1990 to 2012. The first attempt to develop a universal document was made in Copenhagen in 2009 and ended in failure. Developed and developing countries then failed to reach an agreement, and as a compromise measure, the Kyoto Protocol was extended until 2020.

*Photo by REUTERS · Ricardo Moraes*
In the photo: February 2015. More than 21 tons of dead fish floated to the surface of Lake Rodrigo de Freitas in Rio de Janeiro. According to environmentalists, this happened due to heavy rains, which raised the water level, which led to a sharp drop in temperature

According to the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report published in 2014, between 2016 and 2035 the Earth's temperature will increase by 0.7 C, and by 2081 by 2 C and will continue to rise. Winters will become short and cold, and summers will become extremely hot.

*Photo Reuters · Kim Kyung-hoon*
In the photo: February 2014. Beijing.

The climate problem facing China today is the most serious. On March 5, 2014, the Chinese authorities announced the start of large-scale reforms aimed at correcting the environmental situation. A constant smog hangs over China, 75% of rivers are poisoned.

*Photo by REUTERS · Dwi Oblo*
In the photo: August 2015. Dead shark on Pandansimo Beach in Bantul, Indonesia.

Every year, about 9 million tons of waste are thrown into the Pacific Ocean, and more than 30 million tons into the Atlantic. Developed shipping has led to the fact that from 5 to 10 million tons of oil enter the water annually. Hundreds of marine animals and plants die every day.

*Фото REUTERS · Rosa Panggabean*
In the photo: October 2015. Orangutans at a monkey rescue center in Indonesia. Indonesian Prime Minister Najib Razak has called for an end to burning forests and killing monkeys to hunt them.

Every year, 11 million hectares of tropical forests disappear, which is 10 times the rate of reforestation.

*Photo REUTERS · Andrew Bira*
In the photo: May 2009. A boy swims in the Buriganga River in Dhaka, Bangladesh. The Buriganga is one of the most polluted rivers on the planet. The water from it cannot be drunk, nor used for washing or technical purposes. Despite the ban on dumping waste into rivers, Bu

The amount of fresh water available for each person in the world has decreased by 60% over the past 40 years. In 60 years it will decrease by another half.

*Photo*
In the photo: September 2015. Sandstorm in Homs (Syria).

More than 50% of cities exceed the permissible pollution levels set by the WHO (World Health Organization).

*Photo Mahesh Kumar A · AP · TASS*
In the photo: September 2015. Hyderabad (India). Hundreds of thousands of figurines of Lord Ganesh drift in the waters of Indian rivers after the Ganesh Chaturthi festival, leading to serious pollution.

India is one of those countries that will have to accept new climate agreements. The development of the country has led to the fact that today the level of pollution in Delhi is higher than, for example, in Beijing. Indian citizens suffer from respiratory diseases more often than any other person on the planet and also die from respiratory diseases.

*Photo by REUTERS · Denis Balibouse*
In the photo: August 2015. Switzerland. One of the largest glaciers, the Great Aletsch Glacier, is in danger of disappearing due to climate change.

Glaciers on the planet continue to melt rapidly. Thus, the glaciers of the Alps melted by a third in 2005, causing unusually severe floods in Carinthia; in Africa, the snow of Mount Kilimanjaro completely melted.

*Photo REUTERS · Jo Yong-Hak*
In the photo: May 2007. A worker tries to clear oil from a river in Chile after a spill caused by ENAP. The oil spill led to the destruction of the population of sea cows and several species of birds.

One in eight people on the planet does not have access to safe drinking water. Less than 1% of fresh water can be used without further treatment.

*Photo REUTERS · Jo Yong-Hak*
In the photo: December 2007. Dead starfish on a Hong Kong beach.

According to WHO, today, out of 500 large cities in China, only five have an acceptable level of gas pollution, and a third of them are not suitable for living at all.

*Photo by REUTERS · Ricardo Morae*
In the photo: November 2015. A boat on the Rio Dosi River after a dam failure at the Samarco Mineracao mine, owned by BHP Billiton and Vale. According to a UN report, the dam failures were accompanied by the release of toxic waste from iron ore production.

The Samarco dam failure, the worst disaster in Brazilian mining history, occurred on November 5th. As a result of the dam break, at least 13 people died, dozens of people went missing, and about 50 million tons of waste from iron ore mining, which is dangerous to people, got into the water and soil. The nearby village of Bento Rodrigues, with a population of more than 600 people, was flooded with water and mud, and all residents were evacuated.

*Photo by Ben Curtis · AP · TASS*
In the photo: November 2015. Landfill in Nairobi (Kenya). For many Nairobi residents, this dump is the only way to make money: they are looking for waste that can be recycled.

For paper to decompose in nature, it takes up to 10 years, a tin can - up to 90 years, a cigarette filter - up to 100 years, a plastic bag - up to 200 years, plastic - up to 500 years, glass - up to 1000 years.

*Photo by An Woitas · DPA · TASS*
In the photo: November 2015. Power plant in the south of Halle (Germany).

Residents of large cities live on average five years less than residents of rural areas.

In the photo: November 2014. Consequences of the worst drought in 80 years in Brazil.

In the photo: February 2015. More than 21 tons of dead fish floated to the surface of Lake Rodrigo de Freitas in Rio de Janeiro. According to environmentalists, this happened due to heavy rains, which raised the water level, which led to a sharp drop in temperature

In the photo: February 2014. Beijing.

In the photo: August 2015. Dead shark on Pandansimo Beach in Bantul, Indonesia.

In the photo: October 2015. Orangutans at a monkey rescue center in Indonesia. Indonesian Prime Minister Najib Razak has called for an end to burning forests and killing monkeys to hunt them.

In the photo: May 2009. A boy swims in the Buriganga River in Dhaka, Bangladesh. The Buriganga is one of the most polluted rivers on the planet. The water from it cannot be drunk, nor used for washing or technical purposes. Despite the ban on dumping waste into rivers, Bu

In the photo: September 2015. Sandstorm in Homs (Syria).

In the photo: September 2015. Hyderabad (India). Hundreds of thousands of figurines of Lord Ganesh drift in the waters of Indian rivers after the Ganesh Chaturthi festival, leading to serious pollution.

In the photo: August 2015. Switzerland. One of the largest glaciers, the Great Aletsch Glacier, is in danger of disappearing due to climate change.

In the photo: May 2007. A worker tries to clear oil from a river in Chile after a spill caused by ENAP. The oil spill led to the destruction of the population of sea cows and several species of birds.

In the photo: December 2007. Dead starfish on a Hong Kong beach.

In the photo: November 2015. A boat on the Rio Dosi River after a dam failure at the Samarco Mineracao mine, owned by BHP Billiton and Vale. According to a UN report, the dam failures were accompanied by the release of toxic waste from iron ore production.

In the photo: November 2015. Landfill in Nairobi (Kenya). For many Nairobi residents, this dump is the only way to make money: they are looking for waste that can be recycled.

In the photo: November 2015. Power plant in the south of Halle (Germany).

Mistakes of nature: what the climate summit will have to contend with