Europe’s Water Resources Under Pressure, Most Surface Bodies Polluted, EU Says 

Two fishermen stand on a rocky overhang as the sea hits the shore during high tide along the Atlantic Ocean in Lacanau, southwestern France on February 1, 2025. (AFP)
Two fishermen stand on a rocky overhang as the sea hits the shore during high tide along the Atlantic Ocean in Lacanau, southwestern France on February 1, 2025. (AFP)
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Europe’s Water Resources Under Pressure, Most Surface Bodies Polluted, EU Says 

Two fishermen stand on a rocky overhang as the sea hits the shore during high tide along the Atlantic Ocean in Lacanau, southwestern France on February 1, 2025. (AFP)
Two fishermen stand on a rocky overhang as the sea hits the shore during high tide along the Atlantic Ocean in Lacanau, southwestern France on February 1, 2025. (AFP)

Most of European Union surface water bodies are polluted by chemicals, the European Commission said on Tuesday, in a report that revealed the damaged state of Europe's water resources.

The European Union is drafting plans this year to tackle water shortages and droughts being worsened by climate change, and address the intense pressure on water supplies from farming, pollution and sprawling urbanization.

By the EU's assessment, just 39.5% of EU surface water bodies like lakes, rivers and coastal waters, were in good ecological condition as of 2021. Only 26.8% had a good chemical status, down from 33.5% in 2015.

The report noted partial improvements - for example, in aquatic plants in lakes - but these did not rescue the overall health of water bodies.

The situation is better in Europe's groundwater bodies, 86% of which had a good chemical status - although nitrates from farming were polluting groundwater supplies in most EU countries, the data showed.

"The situation for water in the EU is in bad shape," EU Environment Commissioner Jessika Roswall told Reuters in an interview last month. "We have taken water for granted for so long. And I think it's time now that we have this mindset change."

Addressing the issue will be a political challenge - not least because it would involve tackling the substantial impact farming has on water supplies, through irrigation and pollution like nitrates from fertilizers that leach off fields.

Farmers across Europe wielded their political influence last year, staging months of sometimes violent protests against EU rules that resulted in Brussels scaling back some environmental measures.

The Commission said more radical measures were needed to tackle nitrates pollution, but it acknowledged these "could be politically difficult to adopt".

With most countries expected to miss an EU target for all surface water to be in "good" status by 2027, failure to act could result in legal action. The Netherlands is already facing a court order to drastically cut nitrogen pollution, which damages water quality.

The EU could allocate more funds from its next budget to clean up water supplies - although those demands will compete with governments' requests for more EU spending on defense and industry.



Humpback Whale Briefly Swallows Kayaker in Chilean Patagonia

A humpback whale jumps in the Uramba Bahia Malaga National Natural Park in Colombia, Aug. 12, 2018. (AFP via Getty Images)
A humpback whale jumps in the Uramba Bahia Malaga National Natural Park in Colombia, Aug. 12, 2018. (AFP via Getty Images)
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Humpback Whale Briefly Swallows Kayaker in Chilean Patagonia

A humpback whale jumps in the Uramba Bahia Malaga National Natural Park in Colombia, Aug. 12, 2018. (AFP via Getty Images)
A humpback whale jumps in the Uramba Bahia Malaga National Natural Park in Colombia, Aug. 12, 2018. (AFP via Getty Images)

A humpback whale briefly swallowed a kayaker off Chilean Patagonia before quickly releasing him unharmed. The incident, caught on camera, quickly went viral as one of the most remarkable footage in Chile in recent years.

Last Saturday, Adrián Simancas was kayaking with his father, Dell, in Bahía El Águila near the San Isidro Lighthouse in the Strait of Magellan when a humpback whale surfaced, engulfing Adrián and his yellow kayak for a few seconds before letting him go.

Dell, just meters away, captured the moment on video while encouraging his son to stay calm.

“Stay calm, stay calm,” he can be heard saying after his son was released from the whale’s mouth.

“I thought I was dead,” Adrián told The Associated Press. “I thought it had eaten me, that it had swallowed me.”

He described the “terror” of those few seconds and explained that his real fear set in only after resurfacing, fearing that the huge animal would hurt his father or that he would perish in the frigid waters.

Despite the terrifying experience, Dell remained focused, filming and reassuring his son while grappling with his own worry.

“When I came up and started floating, I was scared that something might happen to my father too, that we wouldn’t reach the shore in time, or that I would get hypothermia,” Adrián said.

After a few seconds in the water, Adrián managed to reach his father’s kayak and was quickly assisted. Despite the scare, both returned to shore uninjured.

Located about 1,600 miles (3,000 kilometers) south of Santiago, Chile’s capital, the Strait of Magellan is a major tourist attraction in the Chilean Patagonia, known for adventure activities.

Its frigid waters pose a challenge for sailors, swimmers and explorers who attempt to cross it in different ways.

Although it’s summer in the Southern Hemisphere, temperatures in the region remain cool, with minimums dropping to 39 degrees Fahrenheit (4 degrees Celsius) and highs rarely exceeding 68 degrees Fahrenheit (20 degrees Celsius.)

While whale attacks on humans are extremely rare in Chilean waters, whale deaths from collisions with cargo ships have increased in recent years, and strandings have become a recurring issue in the last decade.