Both, but rivers carry most of it from land. Ships add, but our own litter and poor waste systems on land are the bigger source. South Asian rivers are high because of dense populations, heavy monsoons washing everything downhill, and struggling waste management.
From my desk in Delhi, I see the data on the Ganga and Brahmaputra, but I remember my own Sikkim—how a single plastic bag from our school tuck shop would blow for miles down the Teesta. It starts with us, not just some distant ship.
#trekking#garhwal
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