THE the planet’s natural systems no longer function as before. Processes that maintained environmental stability have exceeded their safety thresholds and are moving toward critical areas. The alteration of these balances causes global transformations of the atmosphere, soils and oceans. Scientists warn that these changes increase the risk of irreversible damage for species and ecosystems. The current situation shows that the earth’s environment is no longer fully habitable and requires urgent rectification.
Scientific assessment places Earth outside safe limits for most indicators
The report Planetary Health Check 2025prepared by the Planetary Boundaries Science Lab at the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK), confirms that the The Earth has exceeded seven of the nine limits considered essential to maintaining a safe environment. Only the state of the ozone layer and the atmospheric aerosol load remain within acceptable margins. The document, cited by Scientific Americanindicates that pressures are increasing and the resilience of the planet is decreasing. Johan Rockströmdirector of PIK and co-author of the report, explained that “More than three-quarters of Earth’s support systems are not in the safe zone“.
He oceanwhich served for centuries as a buffer against excess carbon and heat, has become a victim of this overload. The study confirms that the Marine acidification has exceeded the safety limit. Since the Industrial Revolution, the surface pH of water has decreased by 0.1 units, representing a 30% increase in acidity.
This change affects essential organisms such as pteropods, small marine snails whose fragility endangers many species of fish. It also compromises the survival of cold-water corals and Arctic ecosystems. Levke Caesarco-director of the laboratory, warned that “the ocean is becoming more acidic, oxygen levels are falling, and marine heat waves are increasing,” a process that is weakening the foundations of marine life.
Thresholds act as warning signals for changes likely to accelerate
Planetary boundaries function as medical indicators of the Earth system. They assess nine key processes, from climate balance to biosphere integrity, that maintain the stable conditions of the Holocene, which began about 10,000 years ago. He an excess in any of them does not imply immediate disasterbut it multiplies the possibilities of turning points such as the collapse of the Greenland ice cap or the degradation of the Amazon. The 2025 report shows that in all limits exceeded the trends continue to worsen: The CO₂ concentration reached 423 parts per million, well above the safety threshold of 350, and the extinction rate exceeded ten times the permitted level.
THE changes are related to each other. The loss of forests intensifies droughts, pollution worsens global warming, which in turn accelerates the loss of biodiversity. Boris Sakschewskialso co-director of the laboratory, emphasized that “the interconnections between planetary boundaries show how the pressure exerted on the Earth affects all places”. These figures reflect a simultaneous deterioration of natural systems and an increasing difficulty in regaining balance.
The report ends with a warning and an example of possible reversal. The success of Montreal Protocolwhich has successfully reduced ozone-depleting gases, shows that international cooperation can deliver results. Rockström recalled that “rebuilding the ozone layer and reducing aerosols prove that it is possible to change the course of global development.”
However, the document places the planetary health is at the upper end of the zone of increasing riskclose to a high danger level in which changes would be irreversible. Although Earth’s resilience leaves open a small possibility of returning to a safe space, experts point out that This margin is shrinking rapidly..
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