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)

A villager pours pesticide from a bucket as Mount Sinabung spews ash at Kebayaken village in Karo district, Indonesia's North Sumatra province, on December 4, 2013. The country has ordered the evacuation of 15,000 residents near the active volcano. (Photo by Roni Bintang/Reuters)

A motorway bridge crosses the icy Hunhe River in Shenyang, China on December 12, 2019. (Photo by Costfoto/Barcroft Media)

British band Florence and the Machine performs at the Bilbao BBK Live festival in Bilbao, Spain, early 13 July 2018. Bilbao BBK Live festival runs from 12 July to 14 July 2018. (Photo by Miguel Tona/EPA/EFE)

Morocco's Hanane Ait El Haj, right, watches as Colombia's Manuela Vanegas, down, challenges Morocco's Sakina Ouzraoui during the Women's World Cup Group H soccer match between Morocco and Colombia in Perth, Australia, Thursday, August 3, 2023. (Photo by Gary Day/AP Photo)

Breath at sunset, captures a sea turtle at a dive site called Black Rock. Kāʻanapali, Hawaiʻi, August 2013. (Photo by Christopher Doherty/Smithsonian.com)

Khadjou Sambe, 25, surfs off the coast of Ngor, Dakar, Senegal, August 18, 2020. Growing up in the coastal capital of Dakar, Sambe never saw a Black woman surfing the Atlantic swells. As Senegal's first female professional surfer, Sambe is now inspiring the next generation to defy cultural norms and take to the waves as a surfing coach for local girls. “When I am in the water I feel something extraordinary, something special in my heart”, Sambe said. (Photo by Zohra Bensemra/Reuters)

American actress Anya Taylor-Joy attends the Australian premiere of “Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga” on May 02, 2024 in Sydney, Australia. (Photo by Brendon Thorne/Getty Images)