A firefighter holds a red panda (Ailurus fulgens) from its tail while removing it from a tree at a residential area in Kunming, Yunnan province, July 3, 2014. The animal was spotted in the residential area and was brought down from the tree after residents reported its sighting to the police, local media reported. (Photo by Reuters/Stringer)

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)

Clearing skies await a tripod-toting photographer looking for a spot to capture the early-morning light at Portland Head Light, Thursday, January 17, 2013, in Cape Elizabeth, Maine. (Photo by Robert F. Bukaty/AP Photo)

A street side fruit vendor has his face covered as a precaution against the coronavirus in Kolkata, India, Tuesday, July 21, 2020. With a surge in coronavirus cases in the past few weeks, state governments in India have been ordering focused lockdowns in high-risk areas to slow down the spread of infections. (Photo by Bikas Das/AP Photo)

A girl visits by an area decorated with lanterns ahead of the Chinese Lunar New Year festivity at Yu Garden, following the new coronavirus disease (COVID-19) cases in Shanghai, China, January 28, 2022. (Photo by Aly Song/Reuters)

A camel is seen in front of the pyramids, which is one of the seven wonders of the world that was visited by 14.9 million tourists last year in Giza, Egypt on February 21, 2024. The pyramids were named after the tombs of fathers, sons and grandsons, including the largest pyramid Cheops (King Khufu), the middle pyramid Khafre (King Khafre) and the small pyramid Menkaure (King Menkaure). (Photo by Utku Ucrak/Anadolu via Getty Images)

Tasmanian devils play on May 31, 2023 in Sydney, Australia. Creatures living at the zoo welcomed the arrival of winter with snow and an array of treats. Many of the zoo's species would naturally experience seasonal changes within their wild ranges. With the support of the SEA LIFE Sydney Aquarium's sub-Antarctic penguin team, snow is predicted to hit the Darling Harbour-based attraction on Wednesday morning. (Photo by Jenny Evans/Getty Images)

Elephants forage for food at a rubbish dump encroaching on their jungle habitat in Oluvil, Sri Lanka in September 2020. Examination of dead elephants has revealed undigested polythene and other plastic waste. (Photo by Tharmaplan Tilaxan/Cover Images)