The most devastating and undisputed consequences of a war conflict are the deaths. But on another level, the **[environmental cost of war](https://noticiasambientales.com/medio-ambiente/el-devastador-impacto-ambiental-de-la-guerra-en-la-franja-de-gaza/)** appears, overshadowed.
With the **[Russian invasion of Ukraine](https://noticiasambientales.com/medio-ambiente/el-devastador-impacto-ambiental-de-la-guerra-en-la-franja-de-gaza/)** three years ago, combined with the subsequent outbreak in **[the Middle East](https://noticiasambientales.com/medio-ambiente/el-devastador-impacto-ambiental-de-la-guerra-en-la-franja-de-gaza/)**, defense and combat have regained prominence that had been diluted in recent times.
Thus, images of destruction, diseases, and chaos once again populated screens.
## The environmental cost of war: what is happening in Ukraine
Armies, even without considering the impacts directly triggered by wars, account for **5.5% of global emissions**, according to a 2022 report. This is equivalent to what the **entire global industry** emits, and more than double the pollution caused by commercial aviation.
Furthermore, a study in the journal *Science* reveals that the explosion of the **[Kakhovka dam](https://noticiasambientales.com/medio-ambiente/arsenico-en-el-agua-estos-son-los-puntos-mas-criticos-de-argentina/)** in Ukraine released a “toxic time bomb” due to the **[enclosed contamination](https://noticiasambientales.com/medio-ambiente/arsenico-en-el-agua-estos-son-los-puntos-mas-criticos-de-argentina/)** in the reservoir sediments, which spread through the flooded lands.
## Pollution, a time bomb
This event occurred in the early hours of June 6, 2023. One or more explosions fractured the **[Ukrainian Kakhovka dam](https://noticiasambientales.com/medio-ambiente/arsenico-en-el-agua-estos-son-los-puntos-mas-criticos-de-argentina/)**, controlled by Russia since the first day of the invasion that sparked the current **[war](https://noticiasambientales.com/medio-ambiente/arsenico-en-el-agua-estos-son-los-puntos-mas-criticos-de-argentina/)**.
The uncontrollable flood from the reservoir **submerged populations and farms, destroyed infrastructures**, and caused an undetermined number of victims.
Although the waters have returned to their course, there remains a less visible but lasting damage: the **environmental** impact, as analyzed in a study published in the journal *Science*.
“While media attention focused on the immediate impacts of the floods on the economy, society, and politics, our results show that the toxic contamination in the exposed sediments of the former reservoir bed poses a threat,” noted the study led by the **Leibniz Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries** in Berlin.
“A **long-term** and long-ignored threat to freshwater and marine ecosystems and estuaries,” they clarified.
The analysis estimates that the reservoir’s drainage exposed sediments containing over **83,000 tons of heavy metals** of industrial origin, such as lead, cadmium, nickel, zinc, among others, along with contamination by **nitrogen and phosphorus** from agriculture.
A small portion of this sediment, about 780,000 cubic meters, was dispersed by the waters. Additionally, they carried about **450 tons of fuels** from the hydroelectric plant at the dam and the flooded gas stations.
## Future consequences
In addition to the immediate effects of the flood in the lands crossed by the Dnieper River to its **[mouth in the Black Sea](https://noticiasambientales.com/medio-ambiente/arsenico-en-el-agua-estos-son-los-puntos-mas-criticos-de-argentina/)**, the authors also warned of other damages.
“It can have negative consequences on different human body systems,” stated the study’s lead author, **Oleksandra Shumilova**.
“For example, heavy metals can cause cancer, congenital disorders, damage to the nervous or endocrine system, and many others,” she emphasized. **[It should not be forgotten that Ukraine was considered the “granary of Europe,” or at least it was before the war](https://noticiasambientales.com/medio-ambiente/arsenico-en-el-agua-estos-son-los-puntos-mas-criticos-de-argentina/)**.
## The devastating environmental impact of war in the Gaza Strip
Another sad example of the indissoluble consequences that war generates in the environment is what **[is happening in Gaza](https://noticiasambientales.com/medio-ambiente/el-devastador-impacto-ambiental-de-la-guerra-en-la-franja-de-gaza/)**.
Unprecedented emergency levels have been reached since World War II, as organizations have warned. More than **40,000 people killed**, millions displaced, virtually all infrastructures demolished, lack of food and water.
The constant attacks have affected livelihoods, public health, sanitation, education, and also the environment.
### Water irrigation salinity
The **[water salinity for irrigation](https://noticiasambientales.com/medio-ambiente/el-devastador-impacto-ambiental-de-la-guerra-en-la-franja-de-gaza/)** doubled. For this reason, crops no longer grow as before in Almwasi-AlQarara and Khanyounis. Farmers report that olive nurseries used to be irrigated with groundwater wells with a salinity of 1800 mg/l.
### Land contamination for crops
Bombings cause the **loss of fertility** and **soil contamination** with heavy metals. Intensive bombings lead to the burning and deterioration of the soil, which also kills beneficial organisms for the land.
It destroys trees, deforms their fruits, and organic matter disappears entirely with the subsequent **loss of fertility**.
## Solid waste
The devastating environmental impact of war also involves the generation and accumulation of solid waste. There are at least **63 unregulated landfills** next to displaced persons’ camps. According to field teams’ data, this amounts to 1.2 million tons of **solid waste**.
The continuous accumulation of solid waste in unregulated landfills next to the camps represents an **imminent disaster for public health**. It is a source of **disease transmission**, either through direct contact with children or adults, or through insects.
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