Contamination and climate change affect large rivers in Asia

The year is 2100. Considered the "third pole" in the world, the Hindu Hush and Hilamalaia region and its glaciers are disappearing as the planet gets warmer and the ice, which once supplied the great rivers of Asia, disappeared. With this, there is no more enough water to meet the needs of the continent.
Impacted by extreme heat waves, unpredictable monções and contamination, these river lanes are experiencing a crisis, and with that the lives of hundreds of millions of people are by a thread.
Access to drinking water, now more valuable than oil, is the privilege of the richest and has turned into such a precious asset that people and countries are willing to fight for it. This apocalyptic vision will be the future of Asia if nothing is done to combat global warming, scientists and environmentalists warn.
From the devastated banks of the Bramaputra to the marshes of the Mekong, Asia's main rivers and people living near them struggle to survive in the face of climate change and contamination of their ecosystem.
Geopolitical issues and strong population growth are also reasons that aggravate the situation of these river routes that pass through some of the world's most populous countries.
The continent's top ten rivers are born on the Tibet plateau, under China's responsibility, which creates major challenges and requires international cooperation so that Asia has a more prosperous scenario in the next century.
India, in turn, faces a water crisis on several fronts as climate change generates extreme heat and the fragile environmental strategy to get around the situation puts the lives of millions of people at risk.
"The water crisis is expected to worsen, taking into account that the country's population will grow to 1.6 billion people by 2050," said Pradeep Purandare, a former professor at the Institute of Water and Earth Management.
Bramaputra floods have become increasingly violent and constantly force entire communities to migrate from one region to another and have been responsible for hundreds of deaths.
As in much of India, there is little infrastructure to harness or conserve water along its shores when it is abundant. Thus, the population suffers the consequences of this lack of management when the rainy season is over.
As a result, the 163 million people living in India do not have regular access to drinking water, according to wateraid.
In Pakistan, the Indo River is also under threat from global warming.
Its basin accounts for 90% of the country's water supply, according to the UN, and agriculture is very dependent on irrigation coming from this river.
With the demographic increase, experts warn that by 2025, the country may suffer a "total lack of water", mainly because of the losses of glaciers in the Himalayas.
Countries dependent on the Mekong basin - China, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam - in turn struggle to ensure sustainable development, but hundreds of millions of lives are at risk.
With the motto "Shared River, shared future", China, located in the upper part of the basin, says it is committed to taking care of the environment and sharing the commercial and energy exploitation of the tributary.
However, because of the dams built by Beijing on its stretch of river, the Mekong already undergoes modifications.
According to Thai fishermen, fishing reserves have collapsed, and other endemic species, such as catfish and Mekong dolphins, are on the verge of extinction.
- Chinese internal challenges -
China also faces internal challenges.
Decades of rapid development have left the Yangtsé, the third largest river in the world, and its tributaries filled with toxic material, as well as plastics and garbage of all kinds. This reality threatens the 400 million people - one-third of China's population - who rely on this source of drinking water on site.
Authorities have found more than 250 "cancer villages", most located in the Yangtsé basin, where the incidence of the disease is related to river contamination.

- "Total water shortage" -