Unsafe to drink rain water anywhere in the world.

According to a new study by Stockholm University scientists, rainwater everywhere on the planet is unsafe to drink due to levels of toxic chemicals known as PFAS. This exceeds the latest guidelines.

Commonly known as ‘forever chemicals’ because they disintegrate extremely slowly, PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) were initially found in packaging, shampoo or makeup but have spread to our entire environment, including water and air. 

According to measurements taken, there is nowhere on Earth where the rain would be safe to drink. A compilation of the data since 2010 showed that “even in Antarctica or the Tibetan plateau, the levels in the rainwater are above the drinking water guidelines that the US EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) proposed.

Normally considered pristine, the two regions still have PFAS levels “14 times higher” than the US drinking water guidelines. 

According to some studies, exposure can also lead to problems with fertility, developmental delays in children, increased risks of obesity or certain cancers (prostate, kidney and testicular), an increase in cholesterol levels. 

PFAS were now “so persistent” and ubiquitous that they will never disappear from the planet, making the planet inhospitable to human life by irreversibly contaminating it now so that nothing is clean anymore and to the point that’s it’s not clean enough to be safe.

PFAS in the environment) have been the same for the past 20 years and what is changed is the guidelines. They’ve gone down millions of times since the early 2000s, as we learned more about the toxicity of these substances and we have to learn to live with it and it is not a great situation to be in.

The environment is so contaminated to the point where background exposure is not really safe, the study noted.