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)

Aeronautics and Space engineer at France's Compagnie Maritime d'Expertises, or Comex, Arnaud Prost (C) meets with a jogger as he tests on the ground the “Gandolfi 2” underwater training suit for spacewalk, on January 20, 2016 in the calanques region (rocky inlets) of Marseille. The underwater training suit “Gandolfi 2”, developed with the European Space Agency (ESA), is designed for training astronauts underwater to simulate space gravity for the astronaut's extravehicular activities (EVAs). (Photo by Boris Horvat/AFP Photo)

A beluga whale sprays water towards visitors during a summer attraction at the Hakkeijima Sea Paradise aquarium in Yokohama, suburban Tokyo on July 20, 2015. Tokyo's temperature climbed over 34 degree Celsius on July 20, one day after the end of the rainy season. (Photo by Toshifumi Kitamura/AFP Photo)

Members of the Guard of Honor of the Presidential Regiment from Russia perform during the “Spasskaya Tower” international military music festival at Moscow's Red Square, Russia, September 10, 2015. The festival runs until 13 Sepember. (Photo by Maxim Shemetov/Reuters)

Children pour cold water on themselves under the control of fitness coach Margarita Filimonova (R) at local kindergarten number 317, with the air temperature at about minus 23 degrees Celsius (minus 9.4 degrees Fahrenheit), in Russia's Siberian city of Krasnoyarsk, February 5, 2013. (Photo by Ilya Naymushin/Reuters)

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Dancers pose after performing “El Macho Raton”, “El Toro Huaco” and “El Gueguense” traditional dances during San Sebastian festivity in Diriamba, province of Carazo, some 50 km south of Managua on January 19, 2016. Devotees of Saint Sebastian dance in traditional costumes between the cities of Diriamba and Dolores, which are some three kilometers away. (Photo by Inti Ocon/AFP Photo)

Filipinos cross a swelling river in Las Pinas city, south of Manila, Philippines, 09 July 2015. According to the Philippines State weather forecast, heavy rainfall is expected in Metro Manila and nearby provinces due to an enhanced Southwest Monsoon and Tropical Storm Linfa, Typhoon Chan-hom and Typhoon Nangka which are lining up across the Pacific Ocean. (Photo by Francis R. Malasig/EPA)

Crowds watch surfers as the first big swell of the year arrives in Nazaré, Portugal on October 28, 2015. (Photo by Pedro Miranda/Demotix/Corbis)