Heavy rains amplify the transport of microplastics by rivers worldwide,

A study published in the journal 'Science' by researchers at Peking University in China reveals that heavy rainfall significantly amplifies the transport of microplastics by rivers worldwide, leading to much higher ocean contamination than previously believed.

In the year 2022 alone, the world's rivers discharged an estimated 263,000 tonnes of microplastics into the oceans. The findings indicate that developing nations account for nearly the entirety of this global flow.

Specifically, the data shows that 96 percent of this plastic discharge originated from the global south, with the East and Southeast Asia regions contributing more than half of the total global volume.