Human activity pushes Earth to breaking point, researchers caution

The Earth may be gradually reaching its limits due to increasing environmental damage caused by rapid overconsumption of the planet’s resources. 

A recent report led by researchers at Oregon State University, published on October 29, 2025, suggests that 2024 was likely hotter than the peak of the last interglacial period, approximately 125,000 years ago, during which various factors resulted in the planet becoming warmer and sea levels rising higher than usual. 

According to the climate report, 2024 was Earth’s hottest year in over 125,000 years.

Consequently, the researchers claimed that the planet was “on the brink” of catastrophe as the increasing heat levels were a major point of concern. 

They described it as “vital signs” that were “flashing red,” with almost two-thirds of the world experiencing record high temperatures. 

With 2024 being marked as the hottest year in a long time, it also became the year that broke records, showcasing a drastic change in climate as a result of human activities. 

The latest study reported that greenhouse gas levels, ocean heat, sea ice, and deforestation rates had reached record highs. 

Consequently, the authors claimed humanity was in a “state of ecological overshoot,” as it depleted the planet’s resources faster than they should. 

“We need courage, cooperation, and speed”: Oregon State University professor William Ripple comments on the drastic climate change

While sharing a statement to Space.com on October 29, 2025, the University of Oregon’s professor of ecology, William Ripple, said:

“The message is simple in that the climate crisis has entered an emergency phase and every tenth of a degree of avoided warming matters. We need courage, cooperation, and speed.”

The research, which was published in the Journal BioScience, reported that gases such as carbon dioxide and methane, generally known as planet-warming gases, had reached extreme levels in 2025 again. 

Hawaii’s Mauna Loa Observatory witnessed carbon dioxide levels cross 430 parts per million in May 2025, which was concerning. 

The researchers pointed out a few factors that influenced the ongoing warming. 

Few sunlight-reflecting aerosols in the atmosphere allowed the heat to collect and impact the climate. 

The melting ice and reduced snow cover darkened Earth, making it more susceptible to absorbing more heat.

According to studies, the northern hemisphere is darkening at a faster rate than the south, creating an imbalance, which also impacts the climate. 

The effects of such changes are visible throughout the planet as sea levels reached record extremes, as did coral bleaching, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. 

The forests were also endangered, as the authors of the paper discovered that in 2024, the tree-cover loss hit the 29.6 million hectares mark.

“Fire-related losses surged 370% over the course of 2023, fueled by hotter, drier conditions driven by human-induced climate change and El Niño, the researchers found,” Space.com pointed out from the research.

Consequently, the pillars of Earth’s ecology, such as forests, soils, and others, were starting to falter. 

Ripple stated that the “current levels of warming could destabilize the Earth system.”

However, the only positive point in the report was the dip in the deforestation rate in Brazil’s Amazon forest.

Deforestation fell by about 30% in 2024, the lowest in nine years. It was a direct consequence of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva's initiative to strengthen environmental enforcement. 

Despite all the warning signs, Ripple mentioned that there was still time to act. 

According to him, renewable energy such as solar and wind was “likely the most powerful lever.”

He concluded by saying that Earth systems could recover if given the proper chance and ambiance. 

Stay tuned for more updates.