Using new data and methods, this study demonstrates how the conjunction of bacteria, wastewater and chemicals and plastics can pull oxygen out of the water supply and transform water into poison for human being and ecosystems.

To shed light on this issue, the World Bank has established the world's largest database on water quality from field data collected at monitoring stations using remote sensing techniques and according to the machine learning process.

According to the report, the lack of drinking water reduces economic growth by a third. The authors call for immediate attention at the international, national and local levels to those dangers that threaten both developed and developing countries.

"Clean water is an essential factor for economic growth. Deteriorating water quality hampers economic growth, exacerbates health problems, reduces food production and exacerbates poverty in many countries, "said David Malpass, President of the World Bank Group. "Governments need urgent action to tackle water pollution so that countries can grow faster in a fair and environmentally sustainable way. "0

When biochemical oxygen demand - a measure of the amount of organic pollution in the water and an indirect measure of overall water quality - exceeds a certain threshold, GDP growth in downstream regions is reduced up to one-third due to health, agriculture and ecosystem impacts...

The report recommends that countries take various measures to improve water quality: environmental policies and standards; exact assessment of polluting loads; effective systems of enforcement; water treatment infrastructure facilitated by incentives for private investment; providing reliable and accurate information to households to encourage citizen participation; etc.


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