Papers

61,005 results
|
Systematic Review Tier 1

A Critical Review on the Characterization and Distribution of Microplastic Contaminants in Indian Water Environments: Pathways and Related Hazards

This systematic review examines microplastic contamination in India's freshwater environments, including rivers and lakes. While marine ecosystems have gotten the most attention, freshwater sources — which supply drinking water — are also heavily contaminated. The findings highlight how inadequate waste management and recycling infrastructure allow microplastics to spread through the water systems that communities depend on.

2025 Water Resources 2 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastics in Freshwater Ecosystems in India: A Comprehensive Review

This review examines the occurrence, sources, and ecological risks of microplastics across freshwater ecosystems in India, synthesizing current literature on contamination levels in rivers, lakes, and other inland water bodies.

2025 INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF RESEARCH AND ANALYTICAL REVIEWS
Article Tier 2

Baseline Study on Microplastics in Indian Rivers under Different Anthropogenic Influences

Researchers collected microplastic samples from Indian rivers under different levels of anthropogenic influence and found MPs in all sites, with concentrations correlating with population density and industrial activity, providing one of the first systematic field datasets for major Indian river systems.

2021 Water 113 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastics in Indian aquatic systems and its effects on plants, aquatic organisms and humans, and its methods of remediation

This review summarizes microplastic pollution across India's rivers, coasts, and estuaries, finding contamination widespread in both water and sediment. The highest concentrations were found in estuaries and the Hooghly River, with most research focused on southern India's coastal areas. The study highlights that microplastics in Indian waterways pose health risks to the large populations that depend on these water sources for drinking, fishing, and irrigation.

2024 Chemistry and Ecology 17 citations
Article Tier 2

Comprehensive Review on Microplastic Pollution in Inland Waters of India

This comprehensive review examines microplastic pollution in India's inland freshwater systems, including major rivers like the Ganga, Yamuna, and Brahmaputra. The study highlights that rapid industrialization, urbanization, and poor waste management have led to significant contamination from diverse sources including industrial effluents, untreated sewage, and agricultural runoff, with potential consequences for aquatic organisms and human health through bioaccumulation in food chains.

2025 UTTAR PRADESH JOURNAL OF ZOOLOGY 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Occurrence, quantification and characterisation of microplastics in Godavari River, India

Researchers measured microplastic concentrations in the Godavari River in India, finding an average of 3.9 particles per liter across six sites, with fibers making up over 80% of particles and polypropylene and polyethylene being the most common polymer types. Urban areas had higher concentrations, and the presence of these plastics in a major river system poses risks to agriculture and human health through contaminated water and food sources.

2023 Case Studies in Chemical and Environmental Engineering 35 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastics – an emerging threat in the Indian waterbodies

This review examines the current state of microplastic research in Indian aquatic ecosystems, documenting widespread contamination in rivers, lakes, and coastal waters alongside growing evidence of impacts on aquatic biota. The authors call for standardized national monitoring frameworks to better characterize and address India's emerging microplastic pollution crisis.

2022 Marine Biology Research 10 citations
Article Tier 2

Delving Deep into the Microplastics Crisis in the Indian Aquatic Environment

This review synthesized research on microplastic contamination in India's aquatic environments—rivers, lakes, and coastal waters—covering sources, distribution, ecological impacts, and human exposure risks. The authors found microplastics widespread in Indian water bodies and highlighted the particular vulnerability of rural communities that rely on these waters for drinking and food.

2025
Article Tier 2

Microplastics in Freshwater Environments – With Special Focus on the Indian Scenario

This review examines microplastic pollution in freshwater environments globally with a focus on the Indian context, finding that despite India being one of the world's largest contributors to marine plastic pollution, freshwater microplastic research in India remains almost entirely absent, and calling for systematic river catchment monitoring to quantify land-to-ocean plastic fluxes.

2022
Article Tier 2

Microplastics pollution in inland aquatic ecosystems of India with a global perspective on sources, composition, and spatial distribution

Researchers reviewed microplastic contamination in India's rivers, lakes, and wetlands, finding widespread pollution across water, sediment, and wildlife, with concentrations peaking during monsoon season due to runoff. The review highlights a critical gap: most studies don't account for how water flow and seasonal variation affect where microplastics go, making it hard to gauge the true health risk to people and ecosystems.

2024 Journal of Hydrology Regional Studies 18 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastic pollution in rivers and lakes of India: Sources, ecotoxicological impacts, and removal strategies

This review synthesizes current knowledge on microplastic pollution in India's rivers and lakes, covering sources, ecological impacts, and removal strategies. Researchers found that Indian freshwater systems are increasingly contaminated from industrial discharge, domestic waste, agricultural runoff, and tourism. Evidence indicates that exposed aquatic organisms experience bioaccumulation, oxidative stress, and behavioral changes, underscoring the need for comprehensive remediation efforts.

2025 NanoImpact 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastics in Freshwater Ecosystems of India: Current Trends and Future Perspectives

The study provides a comprehensive review of microplastic contamination in freshwater ecosystems across India, including lakes and rivers. Researchers found that microplastic research in Indian freshwater environments has grown significantly but remains limited compared to marine studies, highlighting the need for expanded monitoring given India's increasing plastic production and low recycling rates.

2023 ACS Omega 58 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastics pollution: An emerging threat to freshwater aquatic ecosystem of India

This review examined microplastic pollution as an emerging threat to freshwater aquatic ecosystems in India, discussing sources, distribution, ecotoxicological effects on aquatic biota, and potential human health hazards. The authors highlighted that while marine microplastic research is extensive, freshwater ecosystems in India remain critically understudied relative to the scale of contamination.

2020 Journal of the Inland Fisheries Society of India 28 citations
Systematic Review Tier 1

A systematic review of microplastic pollution in rivers across Asia

This systematic review found that microplastic pollution is widespread across Asian rivers, with fibers and fragments from synthetic textiles and packaging being the most common types. Since these rivers provide drinking water and sustain fisheries for billions of people, the contamination represents a significant pathway for human microplastic exposure across the most populated continent.

2025
Article Tier 2

Assessment and accumulation of microplastics in the Indian riverine systems: Risk assessment and implications of translocation across the water-to-fish continuum

This review assessed microplastic pollution across Indian rivers and the fish that live in them, finding widespread contamination in both water and fish tissues. Microplastics were found to transfer from river water into fish organs including gills, gut, liver, and muscle tissue that people eat. Since Indian rivers support the livelihoods and food supply of hundreds of millions of people, this contamination pathway is a significant concern for human dietary exposure to microplastics.

2024 Aquatic Toxicology 16 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastic pollution in the Ganga River: A state-of-the-art review of pathways, mechanisms, and mitigation

This review examines microplastic pollution in India's Ganga River, which sustains hundreds of millions of people, identifying sources from industrial discharge, agricultural runoff, and inadequate waste management. Microplastics in the river threaten aquatic life through ingestion and bioaccumulation and ultimately affect the communities that rely on the river for drinking water and food. The study calls for comprehensive management strategies to protect both ecological and public health.

2025 Water Science & Technology Water Supply 9 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastics pollution studies in India: a recent review of sources, abundances and research perspectives

This review summarizes microplastic pollution studies conducted across India, covering sources, distribution, and concentrations in aquatic environments and aquatic organisms. The study highlights the growing scale of microplastic contamination in Indian water bodies and the need for standardized national monitoring programs.

2021 6 citations
Systematic Review Tier 1

Microplastic Contamination, an Emerging Threat to the Freshwater Environment and Human Health: A Systematic Review

This systematic review summarizes existing research on microplastic contamination in freshwater environments and its implications for human health. The evidence shows that microplastics are widespread in rivers, lakes, and drinking water sources, and they can absorb toxic chemicals, making freshwater plastic pollution a direct concern for the safety of our water supply.

2023 Preprints.org 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastic pollution in aquatic environments with special emphasis on riverine systems: Current understanding and way forward

This review examines microplastic pollution in freshwater riverine systems, which serve as a critical link between terrestrial and marine environments. Researchers found that rivers are significantly contaminated with microplastics of varying sizes and morphologies, and that these particles can exhibit variable toxicity to aquatic organisms, highlighting the need for more research on freshwater microplastic impacts.

2021 Journal of Environmental Management 83 citations
Article Tier 2

Sources and Impact of Microplastic Pollution in Indian Aquatic Ecosystem: A Review

This review examines sources and impacts of microplastic pollution across Indian aquatic ecosystems, documenting widespread contamination in marine and freshwater environments and discussing risks to living organisms given projections that ocean plastic will outweigh fish by 2050.

2020 Current World Environment 13 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastic Contamination: A Case Study in the Freshwater of Krishna River

Researchers found microplastic contamination in three sites along the Krishna River in India, identifying polypropylene, polyethylene, and polyoxymethylene particles at different pilgrimage locations. The study confirms freshwater microplastic pollution in this important Indian river and demonstrates a sampling approach applicable to future monitoring efforts.

2023 Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
Article Tier 2

Plastic Pollution from River to Ocean: A Comprehensive Review in Indian Scenario

This review maps how plastic waste travels from India's rivers to the ocean, highlighting that rivers act as conveyor belts transporting microplastics and nanoplastics from inland sources to coastal and marine environments. Given India's large population and extensive river network, the authors argue that current waste management policies have dangerously underestimated the riverine plastic pollution pathway.

2023 Preprints.org 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastic Pollution in Ganga: Present Status and Future Need

This review documents the growing problem of microplastic pollution in the Ganges River in India, finding that the river is heavily contaminated with plastic particles from urban and industrial sources, threatening one of the world's most ecologically and culturally important waterways.

2022 Science and Culture 7 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastics pollution studies in India: a recent review of sources, abundances and research perspectives - a comparison with global research

This review summarizes published research on microplastic pollution in India, identifying sources and distribution across aquatic environments while noting that India remains one of the least-studied countries despite being a major plastic-producing and plastic-polluting nation. The paper compares Indian findings to global research and calls for expanded monitoring.

2022 6 citations