Kerala is facing a growing environmental crisis as the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) reports a sharp decline in river water quality across the state. According to the latest assessment, Kerala has 32 polluted river stretches, the second-highest number in India, highlighting the increasing impact of rapid urbanization and untreated sewage on the state's freshwater ecosystems.

The report, based on water quality data collected between 2020 and 2023, found that untreated sewage discharge and inadequate sanitation infrastructure have significantly degraded river health. Nearly half of the water samples tested were found to be contaminated with harmful bacteria, raising serious concerns about public health and environmental sustainability.

Kerala's Rivers Among India's Most Polluted, CPCB Report Raises Alarm

Heavy rainfall in the French capital has dwindled Paris' plans on testing the readiness for swimmers to take a dip and participate in a race in the River Seine at next year's Summer Olympics.

On Friday (4 August), a training session, that was planned for swimmers who were aiming to take part in a race this weekend in the river, was called off due to the declining water quality which dropped below acceptable standards, said the international governing body of swimming announced.

That can most likely happen when rains cause overflows of untreated waste into the Seine.

The French government is set to spend around $1.6 billion on the Seine regeneration project.

According to the officials, the water-management projects will make the pollution issues caused by storms less frequent.

World Aquatics released a statement saying that after days of rains, “The water quality in the Seine has currently fallen below acceptable standards for safeguarding swimmers’ health,” as per AP reports.

It further said that a call on whether the Open Water Swimming World Cup, which was scheduled for Saturday and Sunday, will follow more water-quality tests.

The competition, which will be among a raft of events, has been organised to test Paris’ Olympic plans.

<h2>River Seine to be venue for marathon swimming at Games next summer &nbsp;&nbsp;</h2>

Paris' River Seine has been chosen as the venue for marathon swimming at the Games next summer.

Banned for almost 100 years due to filthy water, three Olympic and Paralympic events, triathlon, marathon swimming and Para-triathlon will take place in the river and by the year 2025, three open-air swimming areas will be accessible from the quayside.

The water quality of the river drastically declined in all these years due to industrial sewage and the sanitation demands of the growing population in the French capital.

The declining water quality affected the aquatic life to a point where in the 1960s only three species of fish were recorded in Paris.&nbsp;

Swimming in the Seine was banned in the year 1923.

Also read: <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/sweden-100-detained-over-50-injured-as-riot-breaks-out-over-eritrean-festival-622276">Sweden: 100 detained, over 50 injured as riot breaks out over Eritrean festival</a>

<h2>Three swimming areas to open on the Seine</h2>

Over the last 20 years, the advancements that have been made have resulted in a sharp decline of faecal bacteria entering the river.

"But the difficulty has been in eradicating those last few percentage points to ensure it can be officially classified as clean," the BBC quoted Samuel Colin-Canivez, chief engineer for sanitation at Paris city hall as saying.

The government is now building a huge reservoir underground that will help in storing run-off in times of heavy rainfall.

"Up to now, the Seine has been the safety valve for the sewage system. If we didn't occasionally allow wastewater into the river, it would have backed up into people's homes," Colin-Canivez added.

"Now a tunnel will bring the overflow to the reservoir, where it can be stored for a day or two - the time for the system to settle down again. Then it will be drained as normal to the treatment centres," he further said.

(With inputs from agencies)

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Heavy rainfall in the French capital has dwindled Paris' plans on testing the readiness for swimmers to take a dip and participate in a race in the River Seine at next year's Summer Olympics.

Heavy rainfall in the French capital has dwindled Paris' plans on testing the readiness for swimmers to take a dip and participate in a race in the River Seine at next year's Summer Olympics. On Friday (4 August), a training session, that was planned for swimmers who were aiming to take part in a race this weekend in the river, was called off due to the declining water quality which dropped below acceptable standards, said the international governing body of swimming announced. That can most likely happen when rains cause overflows of untreated waste into the Seine. The French government is set to spend around $1.6 billion on the Seine regeneration project. According to the officials, the water-management projects will make the pollution issues caused by storms less frequent. World Aquatics released a statement saying that after days of rains, “The water quality in the Seine has currently fallen below acceptable standards for safeguarding swimmers’ health,” as per AP reports. It further said that a call on whether the Open Water Swimming World Cup, which was scheduled for Saturday and Sunday, will follow more water-quality tests. The competition, which will be among a raft of events, has been organised to test Paris’ Olympic plans. River Seine to be venue for marathon swimming at Games next summer Paris' River Seine has been chosen as the venue for marathon swimming at the Games next summer. Banned for almost 100 years due to filthy water, three Olympic and Paralympic events, triathlon, marathon swimming and Para-triathlon will take place in the river and by the year 2025, three open-air swimming areas will be accessible from the quayside. The water quality of the river drastically declined in all these years due to industrial sewage and the sanitation demands of the growing population in the French capital. The declining water quality affected the aquatic life to a point where in the 1960s only three species of fish were recorded in Paris. Swimming in the Seine was banned in the year 1923. Also read: Sweden: 100 detained, over 50 injured as riot breaks out over Eritrean festival Three swimming areas to open on the Seine Over the last 20 years, the advancements that have been made have resulted in a sharp decline of faecal bacteria entering the river. "But the difficulty has been in eradicating those last few percentage points to ensure it can be officially classified as clean," the BBC quoted Samuel Colin-Canivez, chief engineer for sanitation at Paris city hall as saying. The government is now building a huge reservoir underground that will help in storing run-off in times of heavy rainfall. "Up to now, the Seine has been the safety valve for the sewage system. If we didn't occasionally allow wastewater into the river, it would have backed up into people's homes," Colin-Canivez added. "Now a tunnel will bring the overflow to the reservoir, where it can be stored for a day or two - the time for the system to settle down again. Then it will be drained as normal to the treatment centres," he further said. (With inputs from agencies) WATCH WION LIVE HERE You can now write for wionews.com and be a part of the community. Share your stories and opinions with us here.

Degrading quality of water due to heavy rains tests Paris' readiness for Olympics

Scientists in Germany are working on ways to restore seagrass fields in the Baltic Sea, which are shrinking fast in the face of falling water quality, global warming and disease.

WION Climate Tracker: Scientists in Germany try to restore seagrass in the Baltic sea

At a time when the air quality in the national capital remains in 'very poor' category, BJP leader Meenakshi Lekhi on Friday hit out at the AAP government over the issue of air pollution.

"The reason for the rise in air pollution in Delhi is Particulate Matter (PM).&nbsp;Stubble burning happens two weeks in a year and pollution remains less for the rest of the year," she told ANI.

Lekhi also said that all lawmakers in both <a href="https://www.wionews.com/india-news/dont-come-to-well-of-the-house-ls-speaker-warns-opposition-mps-263571">Lok Sabha</a> and <a href="https://www.wionews.com/videos/your-story-rajya-sabha-takes-up-the-issue-of-air-pollution-263736">Rajya Sabha</a> were present during the discussion on air pollution. 
"All MPs were present and gave their views. There is a time allotted to every MP to speak.

Everyone was present (during the discussion on air pollution)," she said, adding that air pollution issue is related to the economy.

The overall <a href="https://www.wionews.com/india-news/delhi-gasps-for-breath-as-quality-remains-in-very-poor-category-263759">Air Quality Index (AQI)</a> in the national capital docked at 347 on Friday, which falls in the 'very poor' category, according to SAFAR. In several places of the national capital, the AQI was in the 'very poor' zone while in some congested areas such as Wazirpur and ITO, the air quality plunged to the 'severe' category.

The air quality in the NCR region, particularly Ghaziabad, took a turn for the worse with the Air Quality Index (AQI) at 414, which falls in the 'severe' category, according to <a href="https://www.wionews.com/india-news/delhi-pollution-air-quality-index-remains-in-very-poor-category-for-second-consecutive-day-262655">Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB)</a>.

Lekhi also chided Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal for questioning the <a href="https://www.wionews.com/india-news/make-in-india-bullet-resistant-jackets-are-safer-lighter-cheaper-paswan-253870">Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS)</a> over its report on the quality of water.

"If the quality of water was good, then why people have installed RO systems in their homes. This is because the quality of the water is not good at many places in Delhi," Lekhi said.

On November 16, Union Minister Ram Vilas Paswan, while releasing the BIS report, had said that Mumbai's water quality was at the top, whereas the samples from Delhi had failed on 19 parameters. Following this, Kejriwal accused Paswan of "spreading lies" on the quality of Delhi's water.

Hitting back at the Chief Minister, Paswan said on Thursday that the test was conducted by the BIS and not by him and Delhi's water did not meet its standards. (ANI)

At a time when the air quality in the national capital remains in 'very poor' category, BJP leader Meenakshi Lekhi on Friday hit out at the AAP government over the issue of air pollution.

At a time when the air quality in the national capital remains in 'very poor' category, BJP leader Meenakshi Lekhi on Friday hit out at the AAP government over the issue of air pollution. "The reason for the rise in air pollution in Delhi is Particulate Matter (PM). Stubble burning happens two weeks in a year and pollution remains less for the rest of the year," she told ANI. Lekhi also said that all lawmakers in both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha were present during the discussion on air pollution. "All MPs were present and gave their views. There is a time allotted to every MP to speak. Everyone was present (during the discussion on air pollution)," she said, adding that air pollution issue is related to the economy. The overall Air Quality Index (AQI) in the national capital docked at 347 on Friday, which falls in the 'very poor' category, according to SAFAR. In several places of the national capital, the AQI was in the 'very poor' zone while in some congested areas such as Wazirpur and ITO, the air quality plunged to the 'severe' category. The air quality in the NCR region, particularly Ghaziabad, took a turn for the worse with the Air Quality Index (AQI) at 414, which falls in the 'severe' category, according to Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB). Lekhi also chided Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal for questioning the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) over its report on the quality of water. "If the quality of water was good, then why people have installed RO systems in their homes. This is because the quality of the water is not good at many places in Delhi," Lekhi said. On November 16, Union Minister Ram Vilas Paswan, while releasing the BIS report, had said that Mumbai's water quality was at the top, whereas the samples from Delhi had failed on 19 parameters. Following this, Kejriwal accused Paswan of "spreading lies" on the quality of Delhi's water. Hitting back at the Chief Minister, Paswan said on Thursday that the test was conducted by the BIS and not by him and Delhi's water did not meet its standards. (ANI)

BJP's Minakshi Lekhi targets AAP over air pollution, quality of water in Delhi

Nearly 80% of drinking water contaminated in Bengaluru: Study

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