Top 10 Current Environmental Issues In the World In 2025

From raging wildfires to plastic-choked oceans, current environmental issues in the world are becoming increasingly impossible to ignore. Each year, the world produces over 400 million tonnes of plastic, with only 9% recycled. Meanwhile, sea-level rise puts more than 600 million coastal residents at risk from its impacts.

These interconnected environmental threats pose significant challenges for policymakers, industry leaders and local communities seeking to balance economic growth with environmental stewardship. Let’s focus on the top 10 current environmental issues confronting our planet.

Top 10 Major Global Environmental Threats in 2025

1. Climate Change or Global Warming

Climate change driven by human-produced greenhouse gas emissions is the leading environmental issue and has led to a noticeable increase in global temperatures – 0.06^oC annually. These rising temperatures contribute to melting glaciers, rising sea levels and more frequent extreme weather events, such as hurricanes and droughts.

According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), sea levels could rise by over half a metre by 2100, putting millions of people in low-lying coastal regions at risk. Countries that rely heavily on agriculture already face economic losses from reduced crop yields, while urban areas struggle with infrastructure damage caused by extreme heat and flooding.

2. Air Pollution: Smog and Public Health Crises

Air pollution results from harmful chemicals and particulate matter being released into the atmosphere. The primary sources are from burning fossil fuels for things like transportation and energy. Ultimately, this leads to severe public health concerns, making air pollution the leading risk factor for the global disease burden. The World Health Organization estimates that approximately 6.7 million premature deaths result from poor air quality annually.

Major cities frequently record particulate matter (PM2.5) levels above safe thresholds, and India continues to hold the vast majority of the cities with the worst air quality globally. This strains healthcare systems, reduces worker productivity and disrupts ecosystems by damaging plant life and exacerbating climate change. In financial terms, air quality costs the global economy USD 8.1 trillion (6.1% of the global GDP) annually.

3. Deforestation: Habitat Loss and Global Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Deforestation is the large-scale clearing of forests for agriculture, logging and urban expansion. It creates widespread habitat loss and fragmentation and increases greenhouse gas emissions. Forests are critical carbon sinks, absorbing around one-third of global carbon dioxide emissions.

Biodiversity also suffers. For example, areas in Southeast Asia that are home to orangutans and other endangered species have faced alarming deforestation rates. Malaysia, which is home to several types of orangutans, has lost one-third of its total tree cover in the last two decades, illustrating the urgent need for sustainable forestry and land-use practices.

4. Water Scarcity: Dwindling Freshwater Resources

Water scarcity involves the reduced availability of clean, fresh water due to overuse, pollution and changing rainfall patterns. Agriculture, industry and human consumption all compete for finite freshwater resources. Regions facing severe groundwater depletion are especially vulnerable, as groundwater reservoirs are slow to recharge and can hinder everything from food production to the cooling of power plants.

Conflict over shared water sources is an increasing concern in some parts of the world. Already, 50% of the world’s population lives under high water stress conditions for one month every year. During these periods, available water supplies are almost entirely used, reducing access to fresh water for daily life.

5. Plastic Pollution: Ocean Waste and Toxins

Plastic production has been steadily growing since the 1970s, and pollution rates have followed suit. However, plastics take millions of years to fully degrade and break down into microplastics. These microplastics harm marine life, disrupt food chains and introduce toxins into the environment and human food systems.

6. Loss of Biodiversity: Vanishing Flora and Fauna

Biodiversity loss has been accelerating since the 1970s, with total vertebrate pollution sizes declining by an average of 68%. As key species disappear, natural systems weaken and are less resilient to pressures like climate change – another leading environmental issue.

Agricultural sectors suffer when pollinators, such as bees, decline, while pharmaceutical breakthroughs may be missed if plant and fungal species become extinct before their medical properties are studied. The IUCN Red List includes tens of thousands of species threatened with extinction globally, raising alarms about the overall health of our planet’s ecosystems.

7. Overfishing and Marine Degradation

Overfishing involves unsustainable fishing practices that deplete fish stocks and damage marine habitats. This process disrupts marine food webs, reduces fish populations crucial for global nutrition and threatens the livelihoods of coastal communities.

The Food and Agriculture Organization estimates that over a third of the world’s fish stocks are overexploited. Nations like Japan that depend on fishing for economic stability and food security face significant challenges when fish populations dwindle, emphasising the need for responsible fishing quotas and habitat protection.

8. Soil Degradation: Desertification, Nutrient Depletion and Global Food System

Soil degradation or land degradation occurs when the quality of land declines due to factors like overuse, erosion and chemical pollution. This deterioration reduces agricultural yields and the soil’s capacity to store carbon, ultimately worsening climate change.

The world loses around 1 million square km of healthy, farmable land annually, an alarming trend that undermines global food systems. Without sustainable farming practices, rural livelihoods suffer, and countries become increasingly dependent on food imports. In the long term, this will exacerbate existing food insecurity concerns, with estimates predicting that around 600,000 people will live with food insecurity by 2030. 

9. Chemical Pollution: Toxic Runoff and Industrial Waste

Chemical pollution results from the release of hazardous substances in industrial, agricultural and domestic settings. Toxic runoff seeps into water sources, contaminates soils and even reaches the air we breathe, causing health risks that include birth defects, cancers and other chronic ailments.

Heavy pesticide use in several agricultural hubs worldwide contributes to ecosystem toxicity and the decline of beneficial insect populations such as bees. Over time, the bioaccumulation of these chemicals poses risks to wildlife and human populations dependent on these ecosystems for food.

10. Excessive Resource Extraction: Mining and Fossil Fuels

Natural resource extraction is an issue because it leads to environmental degradation and the depletion of finite resources. As the world modernises and the global population grows, there is a parallel demand for more resources like fossil fuels, minerals and metals. This not only elevates greenhouse gas emissions but can also devastate local communities through habitat destruction and pollution. Although resource-rich nations benefit economically in the short term, the environmental and social costs can be immense and long-lasting.

Strategies and Solutions for the Future

Addressing these current environmental problems and tackling the climate crisis demands both immediate and long-term strategies. In the short term, industries and governments can enact stricter environmental protection regulations and corporations can implement more efficient and environmentally conscious practices. Over the longer term, transitioning to renewable energy sources — such as solar, wind and hydropower —remains crucial for reducing greenhouse gases and pollution. Collaboration between the public, private and nonprofit sectors is key to developing sustainable infrastructure and ensuring cleaner technologies become affordable and accessible.