Top 10 Worst Environmental Disasters

BP's Macondo well blowout released 4.9 million barrels of oil into the Gulf of Mexico over 87 days, devastating marine ecosystems and Gulf Coast communities.

A Union Carbide pesticide plant leaked methyl isocyanate gas in India, killing thousands immediately and leaving hundreds of thousands with chronic health conditions decades later.

A tsunami triggered three reactor meltdowns in Japan, forcing 154,000 evacuations and releasing radioactive water that is still being managed through controversial ocean discharge.

Soviet-era irrigation projects diverted the rivers feeding Central Asia's Aral Sea, shrinking it to 10 percent of its original size and creating a toxic dust bowl.

The tanker ran aground in Alaska's Prince William Sound, spilling 37,000 tonnes of crude oil and killing an estimated 250,000 seabirds, 2,800 sea otters, and billions of salmon eggs.

An accumulation of 80,000 tonnes of plastic debris spanning 1.6 million square kilometres in the North Pacific, breaking down into microplastics that infiltrate the entire marine food chain.

Over 80,000 fires burned across the Brazilian Amazon in a single year, many deliberately set for cattle ranching, destroying critical carbon sinks and biodiversity habitat.

Industrial wastewater from a Chisso Corporation chemical factory in Japan poisoned Minamata Bay with methylmercury, causing severe neurological damage in thousands of residents.

Record-breaking fires burned over 18.6 million hectares across Australia, killing an estimated three billion animals and intensifying debate over climate change and land management policies.

BP's Macondo well blowout released 4.9 million barrels of oil into the Gulf of Mexico over 87 days, devastating marine ecosystems and Gulf Coast communities.

A Union Carbide pesticide plant leaked methyl isocyanate gas in India, killing thousands immediately and leaving hundreds of thousands with chronic health conditions decades later.

A tsunami triggered three reactor meltdowns in Japan, forcing 154,000 evacuations and releasing radioactive water that is still being managed through controversial ocean discharge.

Soviet-era irrigation projects diverted the rivers feeding Central Asia's Aral Sea, shrinking it to 10 percent of its original size and creating a toxic dust bowl.

The tanker ran aground in Alaska's Prince William Sound, spilling 37,000 tonnes of crude oil and killing an estimated 250,000 seabirds, 2,800 sea otters, and billions of salmon eggs.

An accumulation of 80,000 tonnes of plastic debris spanning 1.6 million square kilometres in the North Pacific, breaking down into microplastics that infiltrate the entire marine food chain.

Over 80,000 fires burned across the Brazilian Amazon in a single year, many deliberately set for cattle ranching, destroying critical carbon sinks and biodiversity habitat.

Industrial wastewater from a Chisso Corporation chemical factory in Japan poisoned Minamata Bay with methylmercury, causing severe neurological damage in thousands of residents.

Record-breaking fires burned over 18.6 million hectares across Australia, killing an estimated three billion animals and intensifying debate over climate change and land management policies.