Abdul Hakim Awal, a 23-year-old Ghanaian journalist, has set a new Guinness World Record for the longest time spent hugging a tree.
Gatekeepers News reports that Awal hugged a tree for an impressive 24 hours and 21 minutes, surpassing the previous record of 16 hours set by Ugandan environmental activist Faith Patricia Ariokot earlier this year.
To achieve this feat, Awal had to remain standing and keep his arms wrapped around the tree throughout the entire duration without any breaks.
Awal, while speaking about his achievement, said, “My goal is to promote reforestation and nature conservation in Ghana. We know how trees, an essential resource which the entire human race depends on, are becoming scarce in Ghana.”
Awal emphasised the importance of preserving trees, saying, “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.”
As part of his commitment to environmental conservation, Awal has pledged to plant a new tree for every minute his record attempt lasted. With a total of 1,461 minutes, Awal is expected to plant 1,461 trees.
Guinness World Records has announced that the title for this record has been changed to “Longest marathon hugging a tree” now that the record has exceeded 24 hours.
The next person to attempt this record will be allowed two hours of break per day.
