The boundaries exceeded are also: climate change, integrity of the biosphere, change in land use, change in fresh water systems, changes in nitrogen and phosphorus circuit and the appearance of man-made substances.
According to the “Planetary Health Check”, two of the exposed load limits are still in the safe area: the load by aerosols (air pollution) and the ozone layer.
The majority of the vital functions of our planet are in danger, explained PIK director Johan Rockström: “More than three quarters of the vital earth system functions are no longer in the safe area. Humanity leaves its secure space and thus increases the risk of destabilizing the planet.” The condition of the earth deteriorates massively.
Measers are increasingly losing their stabilizing role in the earth system
The main cause of the ocean acidification is the combustion of fossil fuels, reinforced by deforestation and land use change. Oceans absorb large amounts of man -made carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, making their water acidic. As a result, the seas increasingly lose its stabilizing role in the earth system, as the research team further announced. The consequences are noticeable: cold water corals, tropical reefs and arctic ecosystems came under pressure – as well as entire food chains and thus the nutritional certainty of humans.
Researchers still consider the development to be reversible
The researchers’ report is also an appeal to politicians, business and society to better protect the livelihoods. Even if the diagnosis is serious, there is still the chance to reverse this development, says Rockström. This showed examples such as the decline in air pollution from aerosols and the recovery of the ozone layer.
This message was sent on September 24, 2025 in the Deutschlandfunk program.
