Getty Images has published a fresh set of photos from the heavily polluted Guanabara Bay in Rio de Janeiro—which is the site chosen for water sports at the Rio 2016 Summer Olympics. The photos are frankly shocking, as the iconic bay will be the site of sailing events during the summer Olympic Games.
Although Rio's Olympic bid included a promise to clean up the filthy bay, industrial and human pollution still remain a major problem. According to the Deputy State Secretary of Environment, just 34% of Rio's sewage is treated while the remainder flows untreated into the waters. They have only two years to clean up this terrible mess.
Debris sits along the Guanabara Bay outside Antonio Carlos Jobim International Airport
Photo and caption: Mario Tama/Getty Images
A dead fish floats in the water
Photo and caption: Mario Tama/Getty Images
Kids play by the shoreline
Photo and caption: Mario Tama/Getty Images
Fishing and industrial boats
Photo and caption: Mario Tama/Getty Images
Bubbles rise in the polluted waters
Photo and caption: Mario Tama/Getty Images
Kids play in the filthy water
Photo and caption: Mario Tama/Getty Images
An airplane lands above the polluted shoreline
Photo and caption Mario Tama/Getty Images
A man boats on a dirty inlet of the Guanabara Bay
Photo and caption: Mario Tama/Getty Images
Household garbage
Photo and caption: Mario Tama/Getty Images
Waves wash up trash along the shoreline
Photo and caption: Mario Tama/Getty Images
Hazardous waste floats on the surface of the water
Photo and caption: Mario Tama/Getty Images
An olympic sailing qualifier was held in Guanabara Bay on January 11 – looks okay from the distance
Photo and caption: Alexandre Loureiro/Getty Images