By Abbas Nazil
Seven of 16 key indicators of the Earth’s environmental health have reached their most extreme levels on record, as climate change intensifies and a strengthening El Niño threatens to worsen global temperatures, drought and ecosystem degradation, according to a new scientific report published in the journal BioScience.
The report, led by Oregon State University researcher Bill Ripple, warns that the planet’s condition is deteriorating despite growing investment in renewable energy and other carbon-free electricity sources.
Ripple described the situation as serious and worsening, comparing the Earth’s condition to that of a patient whose annual medical examination reveals increasingly alarming symptoms.
Among the most concerning findings is the continued rise in atmospheric carbon dioxide, which has reached approximately 50 per cent above pre-industrial levels, largely because of the burning of fossil fuels.
The report also found that the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets have shrunk to record lows, while ocean temperatures have climbed to unprecedented levels, reflecting the growing impact of human-induced global warming.
According to the researchers, the rate of global warming has accelerated considerably, rising from approximately 0.05 degrees Celsius per decade between 1880 and 1970 to 0.36 degrees Celsius per decade since 2010.
Although the global average temperature has not yet reached its most extreme level on record, scientists warn that a strengthening El Niño could push temperatures higher before the end of 2026.
El Niño is a natural climate phenomenon characterised by unusually warm surface waters in the Pacific Ocean, which can influence weather patterns and increase global temperatures by releasing additional heat into the atmosphere.
Ripple warned that a strong El Niño could intensify heatwaves and drought in vulnerable regions, making its effects more dangerous because it is occurring against the background of an already warmer planet.
Coral reefs and tropical forests are among the ecosystems facing heightened risks from these changing conditions.
Rising ocean temperatures could trigger widespread coral bleaching and die-offs, further weakening reefs already under pressure from successive marine heatwaves. Scientists warn that if global warming exceeds 1.5 degrees Celsius, most of the world’s coral reefs could struggle to survive.
The Amazon rainforest is also particularly vulnerable because El Niño often brings drier conditions to the region, increasing the risks of drought, forest degradation and wildfires.
These threats are compounded by logging, mining and deforestation, which continue to undermine the rainforest’s ability to absorb carbon dioxide and support biodiversity.
Researchers have also warned that the Amazon could eventually approach an ecological tipping point at which large areas of tropical rainforest shift towards a drier, savanna-like ecosystem.
Although scientists do not consider such a transformation imminent, they caution that the combined effects of warming, drought and forest destruction could move the region closer to that threshold.
Ripple said the interaction of these pressures could make forest degradation increasingly difficult to reverse.
Despite the alarming findings, the report identified the growing contribution of renewable energy and other carbon-free electricity sources as an encouraging development, describing the transition as part of an emerging age of electricity.
However, the researchers stressed that this progress has not yet been sufficient to reverse the overall deterioration of the global climate, as annual greenhouse gas emissions remain at record levels.
Ripple called for stronger and more urgent action, emphasising that the climate emergency is already affecting the planet rather than representing a distant future threat.
