The Ghanaian man identified as Abdul Hakim Awal has set a new Guinness World Record (GWR) for the longest time to hug a tree.
In a blog post on Tuesday, GWR revealed the 23-year-old journalist hugged a tree for 24 hours and 21 minutes.
To achieve the feat, Awal had “to remain standing and keep his arms wrapped around the tree throughout the entire duration”.
He was also not giving any breaks during the attempt.
Speaking about the achievement, Awal said his 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,” he said.
“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.”
Awal said he will plant a new tree for every minute his record attempt lasted.
Finishing at 1,461 mins, Awal is now expected to plant 1,461 trees.
Awal surpassed the previous record of 16 hours set by Ugandan environmental activist Faith Patricia Ariokot earlier this year.
Faith Patricia Ariokot is the first record holder.
GWR revealed that now that the record has exceed 24 hours, the title has changed to ‘Longest marathon hugging a tree’.
The next person to attempt it will also be given two hours break per day.
