{
  "id": 7298797,
  "title": "Against the odds, endangered dolphins survive in Bangladesh’s polluted river",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/14/against-the-odds-endangered-dolphins-survive-in-bangladeshs-polluted",
  "topic": "science",
  "section": "Science",
  "published": "2026-09-14T10:11:16.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Mongabay",
    "slug": "mongabay",
    "url": "https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/against-the-odds-endangered-dolphins-survive-in-bangladeshs-polluted-river/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "The Buriganga River, one of Bangladesh's most polluted waterways, is home to endangered Ganges river dolphins despite its toxic industrial effluent, continuous tannery discharges, untreated sewage, and solid waste. A recent study published in the Journal of Asia-Pacific Biodiversity found around 20 dolphins persist in the 27-km-long river. Researchers surveyed the river for 12 months, from September 2023 to August 2024, and tracked the dolphins during 10 of those months, with the highest sightings in December and throughout winter. The dolphins were absent in October 2023 and between July and August 2024. The dolphin groups averaged 4.18 individuals, higher than previous observations.",
  "summary": "The Buriganga River, which flows by Dhaka city, is one of Bangladesh’s most polluted waterways and ranks among the most contaminated urban rivers in the world. Every day, the 29-kilometre- (18-mile-) long Buriganga River absorbs toxic industrial effluent from hundreds of factories, continuous tannery discharges, untreated sewage and solid waste, leaving much of the river […]",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}