Editing Developing country (section)

==== Water pollution ====
[[File:Factory in China at Yangtze River.JPG|thumb|Factory in China at [[Yangtze|Yangtze River]] causing [[air pollution]]]]
[[File:Plastic Pollution in Ghana.jpg|thumb|[[Plastic pollution]] at a beach near [[Accra]], Ghana]]
[[Water pollution]] is a major problem in many developing countries. It requires ongoing evaluation and revision of [[water resource policy]] at all levels (international down to individual aquifers and wells). It has been suggested that water pollution is the leading worldwide cause of death and diseases,<ref name="death">{{cite news|url=https://finance.yahoo.com/columnist/article/trenddesk/3748 | last = Pink | first = Daniel H. | name-list-style = vanc |publisher=Yahoo |title=Investing in Tomorrow's Liquid Gold |date=19 April 2006 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060423172532/https://finance.yahoo.com/columnist/article/trenddesk/3748 |archive-date=23 April 2006 }}</ref><ref name="death2">{{cite news |url=http://environment.about.com/od/environmentalevents/a/waterdayqa.htm |last=West |first=Larry |name-list-style=vanc |publisher=About.com |title=World Water Day: A Billion People Worldwide Lack Safe Drinking Water |date=26 March 2006 |access-date=30 April 2018 |archive-date=27 December 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161227153137/http://environment.about.com/od/environmentalevents/a/waterdayqa.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref> and that it accounts for the deaths of more than 14,000 people daily.<ref name="death2" />

India and China are two countries with high levels of water pollution: An estimated 580 people in India die of water pollution related illness (including [[waterborne diseases]]) every day.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://inclentrust.org/uploadedbyfck/file/Diarrhoea-Pneumonia/Lecture%203_1%20Burden%20of%20diarrhea%20in%20children%20in%20India%20-12th%20dec.pdf |title=An overview of diarrhea, symptoms, diagnosis and the costs of morbidity |year=2010 |work=CHNRI |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130512231350/http://www.inclentrust.org/uploadedbyfck/file/Diarrhoea-Pneumonia/Lecture%203_1%20Burden%20of%20diarrhea%20in%20children%20in%20India%20-12th%20dec.pdf |archive-date=12 May 2013 }}</ref> About 90 percent of the [[Water resources of China|water in the cities of China]] is polluted.<ref>"[http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/english/doc/2005-06/07/content_449451.htm China says water pollution so severe that cities could lack safe supplies] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170630102454/http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/english/doc/2005-06/07/content_449451.htm |date=30 June 2017 }}". Chinadaily.com.cn. 7 June 2005.</ref> As of 2007, half a billion Chinese had no access to safe drinking water.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Kahn |first1=Joseph |last2=Yardley |first2=Jim |name-list-style=vanc |date=26 August 2007 |title=As China Roars, Pollution Reaches Deadly Extremes |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/26/world/asia/26china.html |newspaper=New York Times |access-date=30 April 2018 |archive-date=22 July 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160722082111/http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/26/world/asia/26china.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

However, after a series of reforms, China's environment began to demonstrate enormous improvements around the 2010s. Under the [[Xi Jinping Administration|leadership]] of [[General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party|CCP general secretary]] [[Xi Jinping]], a sizable fraction of high-pollution industries have been gradually phased out and many illegally polluting factories were sanctioned or closed. A considerable amount of effort went to enforce environmental regulations at regional levels and holding persons of malpractice accountable, including officials and firm managers. The slogan "[[Clear waters and green mountains|clear waters and green mountains are as valuable as gold and silver mountains]]" proposed by Chinese leader Xi Jinping in 2005<ref>{{cite web |title=习近平：绿水青山就是金山银山_新华网 |url=http://www.xinhuanet.com/politics/szzsyzt/lsqs2017/index.htm |access-date=11 February 2022 |archive-date=8 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220308215121/http://www.xinhuanet.com/politics/szzsyzt/lsqs2017/index.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> signifies China's determination in amending environmental burdens created during industrialization while shifting to more sustainable modes of development and adopting high-end industries. Water bodies around the country are much cleaner than a decade ago and steadily approaching natural levels in pollutants.

In 2021, China introduced the "coal to gas" policy<ref>{{cite web |title="煤改气"是碳达峰的重要一环，需求有望超预期！ |url=http://www.fcgs.gov.cn/zrgs/dtxx/202105/t20210506_199603.html |access-date=11 February 2022 |archive-date=12 February 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220212032110/http://www.fcgs.gov.cn/zrgs/dtxx/202105/t20210506_199603.html |url-status=live }}</ref> as one of many policies directed towards achieving peak carbon emissions in 2060. Coal combustion in homes, power stations and production industries constitutes 60% of total energy consumption in China and is the main source of water and air pollution. It is speculated that pollution sources will be progressively eliminated as China reaches the upper tiers of developing countries.

Further details of water pollution in several countries, including many developing countries:

{{world topic|Water pollution in|title=Water pollution by country|noredlinks=yes|show=yes}}