Many rivers in Europe exceed nitrate standards, sounding ecological alarm bells

Recently, environmental organizations have released a report stating that several major rivers in Europe are facing severe nitrate exceedances. Monitoring data from the Danube River to the Rhine River shows that the concentration of nitrate in the water far exceeds safety standards. This phenomenon is mainly caused by agricultural non-point source pollution, the use of large amounts of nitrogen-containing fertilizers, and improper disposal of livestock and poultry waste, which leads to nitrogen elements flowing into rivers through rainwater erosion and surface runoff. High concentrations of nitrate not only pose a threat to the survival of aquatic organisms, leading to overgrowth of algae and the formation of algal blooms, disrupting the balance of aquatic ecosystems, but may also affect human health through drinking water sources and increase the risk of diseases such as cancer. European governments are urgently discussing response strategies, including promoting precision agriculture technology to reduce fertilizer use, improving sewage treatment facilities, and strengthening supervision of agricultural waste, in order to improve the water quality of rivers in a short period of time and save endangered river ecosystems.