Environmental polycrisis shatters world in 2025, but hope remains for healing our planet’s heart

The world faced an unprecedented convergence of environmental, social, and economic crises in 2025, creating what experts call a “polycrisis” that has pushed both human societies and natural systems to their breaking points. From accelerating climate change to biodiversity loss, technological disruptions, and deepening inequalities, these interconnected challenges have unfolded with such speed and intensity that their full impact on current and future generations remains difficult to comprehend.

Author Elif Shafak draws a powerful parallel between our current global situation and a lesson from an Istanbul glassblower’s workshop. When a young apprentice shattered a delicate vase by applying too much pressure while keeping it unbalanced, his master offered wisdom that resonates today: “You forgot that it, too, has a heart.” This metaphor captures how humanity may have forgotten that Earth itself possesses a living, beating heart that requires careful handling rather than relentless pressure.

The mounting strain of domestic policy failures, geopolitical tensions, and environmental degradation has created an unstable world marked by profound inequalities. Yet Shafak suggests that 2025 has also been a year when “words of depth and courage” have served as an antidote to the numbness many feel when confronted with overwhelming challenges.

While the world may feel broken, the glassblower’s wisdom offers hope: with proper care, balance, and recognition of our planet’s inherent vitality, it may be possible to repair what has been shattered and create something beautiful once again.