Earth fails another critical health check, but scientists say it's not too late

In this underwater photo taken on 5 April 2024, a marine biologist inspects bleached and dead coral around Lizard Island on the Great Barrier Reef, off the north-east coast of Australia. AFP - DAVID GRAY

With oceans showing dangerous levels of acidity, seven of nine crucial planetary boundaries – the limits beyond which Earth risks becoming uninhabitable for humans – have now been breached, climate researchers warn. But one of the authors of a new report tells RFI that humanity still has a chance to reverse the trend.

The world's oceans have reached critical levels of acidity, the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) said in its annual Planetary Health Check, published this week.