The World’s Most Polluted Tourist Destinations

Pollution is now one of the world's most rampant problems. Not only it endangers the cleanliness of our environment, nowadays pollution has mutated into levels that can be really harmful to our health.

Sadly, this problem has also now affected some beloved tourist destinations around the world, making some of them not ideal for travel anymore. And if governments and local communities don't do something to alleviate this problem, these travel destinations may close up for good. Here are some of them:

Acclaimed as the most romantic destination of the world, Paris, France is becoming more toxic for travelers because of the rising level of air pollution. Test done last December 13 has shown that it's now difficult to get a clear sight of the Eiffel Tower due to the blockage of smoke, and that Parisians are now breathing in up to 6 million fine particles of air, equivalent to the amount of smoke 8 smokers inside a room can produce. Because of this, the mayor of Paris has decreed restricted access of cars with high levels of CO2 emissions starting 2015.

The Great Barrier Reef, Australia is home to multitudes of species of fish and other marine life, and now human pollution has done great damage to some parts of this natural attraction. Because of its delicate environment, the mass of tourists it encounters every year is not ideal for its survival. It's only a matter of time before this largest reef in the world gets destroyed if we don't take it up to ourselves to solve this problem.

India's national treasure, the Taj Mahal, is now under a serious threat from pollution. The onslaught of tourists who visit Taj Mahal every year is becoming a grave danger to this magnificent palace. Once a magnificent royal structure, this white castle is slowly turning yellow due to the amount of trash, smoke, and other debris tourists leave when they travel. Local authorities now ban vehicles from within 500 meters of the monument.

China is now currently being affected by smog, an air condition where fog consists of smoke and other air pollutants permeate a certain place. In Beijing, the smog problem is particularly high, and its influence has now affected the Great Wall of China. Aside from that, it seems that the two-thirds of the Great Wall are now destroyed due to natural erosion, tourist onslaught, and vandalism. A highly disturbing report, and one that we should prioritize solving otherwise the Great Wall may lose its greatness forever.