A 23-year-old journalist from Kumasi, Ghana, has broken the Guinness World Record for the longest time to hug a tree.
Abdul Hakim Awal’s “tree-hug-a-thon” took place outside Kumasi Cultural Centre and lasted an impressive 24 hours and 21 minutes. This remarkable feat surpassed the previous record of 16 hours, which was set by Ugandan environmental activist Faith Patricia Ariokot earlier this year.
Abdul undertook this challenge to emphasize the importance of nature conservation in Ghana. He pledged to plant a new tree for every minute his record attempt lasted, resulting in a total of 1,461 trees.
During the attempt, Abdul was not permitted any breaks; he had to remain standing and keep his arms wrapped around the tree throughout the entire duration.
The record now stands at 24 hours, marking the point at which such attempts are considered ‘marathons’. Consequently, the title has been modified to "longest marathon hugging a tree," allowing future challengers to take breaks totaling two hours per day to mitigate the harmful effects of sleep deprivation.
Abdul is not the first Ghanaian to set a tree-hugging world record this year. A forestry student, Abubakar Tahiru, set a record for the most trees hugged in one hour with a total of 1,123 trees.
Despite some skepticism and mockery on social media platforms like X, where Nigerians questioned the validity of such records, Abdul's achievement has drawn massive attention to environmental issues.
Reflecting on his motivation, Abdul stated, “We know how trees, an essential resource which the entire human race depends on, are becoming scarce in Ghana. Though we have been taught about preservation of trees since the early years of our lives, the contribution from everyone is not as significant as it should be. This attempt for the longest time to hug a tree, to me, spells out an important task to preserve human life by preserving trees.”
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