Growing cities, overuse of fertilizers and factory wastewater have degraded China's water supplies to the extent that half the nation's rivers and lakes are severely polluted. China aims to spend $850 billion to improve filthy water supplies over the next decade, but even such huge outlays may do little to reverse damage caused by decades of pollution and overuse in Beijing's push for rapid economic growth. Photo: Fishermen row a boat in the algae-filled Chaohu Lake in Hefei, Anhui province, June 19, 2009. (Photo by Jianan Yu/Reuters)

Infantrymen of the US First Army shake hands with Russian soldiers on the broken bridge over the Elbe after the link-up at Torgau, Germany. The US soldiers are (L-R): Pfc. John A Metzger, Delbert E Philpott, and Pvt. Thomas B Summers; all are from A Company, 271st Regiment. (Photo by Allan Jackson/Getty Images). 04-1945

French tennis champion Suzanne Lenglen (1899–1938) high-kicking during a doubles match at the Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Championships. (Photo by Kirby/Topical Press/Getty Images). 1924

A goose attacks an Orthodox believer as he leaves the icy waters of a pond during the celebration of the Orthodox Epiphany holiday in Kiev on January 19, 2018. Thousands of Ukrainian Orthodox Church followers plunged into icy rivers and ponds across the country to mark Epiphany, cleansing themselves with water deemed holy for the day. (Photo by Sergei Supinsky/AFP Photo)

A rabbit fails to jump over an obstacle during a rabbit track and field competition on the sidelines of a hunting exhibition in Kromeriz, about 60 km east of Prague, on April 1, 2017. Circa 100 rabbits took part in the competition, including disciplines as long jump, high jump and running on a flat track. (Photo by Radek Mica/AFP Photo)

The National Geographic Photo Ark is a travelling exhibition of photographer Joel Sartore’s quest to create a photo archive of biodiversity around the world. So far, Sartore has captured studio portraits of more than 6,000 species – a number that he hopes to double. On 1 July, the ark will open at Melbourne zoo – the first time it has been exhibited in the southern hemisphere. More than 50 portraits will be on display, including many of Australian endangered animals being protected by programs at the zoo itself. These captions have been edited from text supplied by Melbourne zoo. Here: Barking owl. (Photo by Joel Sartore/National Geographic Photo Ark/The Guardian)

In a photo taken on November 4, 2020 visitors wearing traditional Korean hanbok dress walk beneath yellow ginko leaves in a courtyard at Gyeongbokgung palace in Seoul. (Photo by Ed Jones/AFP Photo)

A man dressed in Christmas garb smokes a hand-rolled cigarette, Thursday, December 24, 2020, in Times Square on Christmas Eve in New York. (Photo by Kathy Willens/AP Photo)