1 00:00:19,686 --> 00:00:21,896 Just 50 years ago, 2 00:00:22,480 --> 00:00:25,400 we finally ventured to the moon. 3 00:00:39,372 --> 00:00:44,878 For the very first time, we look back at our own planet. 4 00:00:52,385 --> 00:00:57,766 Since then, the human population has more than doubled. 5 00:01:03,271 --> 00:01:07,817 This series will celebrate the natural wonders that remain, 6 00:01:08,651 --> 00:01:11,362 and reveal what we must preserve 7 00:01:11,738 --> 00:01:15,992 to ensure people and nature thrive. 8 00:01:35,428 --> 00:01:38,264 When human beings built their first settlements 9 00:01:38,348 --> 00:01:40,475 some 10,000 years ago, 10 00:01:41,267 --> 00:01:42,519 the world around them, 11 00:01:43,394 --> 00:01:45,522 on the land and in the sea, 12 00:01:45,605 --> 00:01:47,148 was full of life. 13 00:02:05,166 --> 00:02:11,339 For generations, this stable Eden nurtured our growing civilizations. 14 00:02:16,010 --> 00:02:20,265 But now, in the space of just one human lifetime, 15 00:02:20,682 --> 00:02:22,767 all that has changed. 16 00:02:26,354 --> 00:02:27,939 In the last 50 years, 17 00:02:28,231 --> 00:02:32,944 wildlife populations have, on average, declined by 60 percent. 18 00:02:36,322 --> 00:02:38,658 For the first time in human history, 19 00:02:39,117 --> 00:02:43,496 the stability of nature can no longer be taken for granted. 20 00:02:55,133 --> 00:02:57,969 But the natural world is resilient. 21 00:02:59,429 --> 00:03:01,598 Great riches still remain. 22 00:03:07,896 --> 00:03:11,983 And with our help, the planet can recover. 23 00:03:16,237 --> 00:03:21,993 Never has it been more important to understand how the natural world works, 24 00:03:22,702 --> 00:03:24,078 and how to help it. 25 00:03:46,726 --> 00:03:50,230 Wildlife still flourishes in astonishing numbers 26 00:03:50,688 --> 00:03:53,107 in a few precious places. 27 00:03:59,113 --> 00:04:01,908 Along the Peruvian coast of South America, 28 00:04:02,492 --> 00:04:07,038 seabirds congregate in colonies millions strong. 29 00:04:11,209 --> 00:04:13,503 They come here to breed. 30 00:04:23,680 --> 00:04:26,808 Every morning, the birds leave their colonies 31 00:04:27,350 --> 00:04:31,062 to fish in one of the richest seas on Earth. 32 00:04:40,822 --> 00:04:44,200 It is an astonishing daily migration 33 00:04:44,826 --> 00:04:47,287 of five million birds. 34 00:04:52,208 --> 00:04:58,131 The huge flocks of cormorants and boobies are all seeking one thing: 35 00:05:01,634 --> 00:05:02,634 anchovies. 36 00:05:15,982 --> 00:05:18,943 The boobies carpet-bomb the shoals. 37 00:05:27,785 --> 00:05:31,539 More and more birds join the feeding frenzy. 38 00:06:11,996 --> 00:06:15,750 All in this immense assembly are here 39 00:06:16,042 --> 00:06:19,962 because a powerful oceanic current, the Humboldt, 40 00:06:20,254 --> 00:06:22,090 sweeps up from the Antarctic, 41 00:06:22,840 --> 00:06:26,761 bringing with it rich nutrients from the ocean's depths. 42 00:06:31,974 --> 00:06:35,311 90 percent of the life in the oceans 43 00:06:35,520 --> 00:06:38,731 is found in the shallow seas close to the coast. 44 00:06:43,403 --> 00:06:44,821 Away from the land, 45 00:06:45,279 --> 00:06:48,908 the seas, for the most part, are a blue desert. 46 00:06:50,243 --> 00:06:53,830 But even these distant waters may be enriched 47 00:06:53,913 --> 00:06:57,667 by a most unexpected connection to the land. 48 00:07:02,839 --> 00:07:04,424 Some deserts, 49 00:07:04,507 --> 00:07:07,135 often hundreds of kilometers from the ocean, 50 00:07:07,593 --> 00:07:11,264 provide the raw materials for life. 51 00:07:21,774 --> 00:07:28,573 Every year, winds sweep up two billion tons of dust into the sky. 52 00:07:31,451 --> 00:07:35,580 At least a quarter of it eventually falls on the sea, 53 00:07:36,497 --> 00:07:40,751 providing nutrients needed by the microscopic organisms 54 00:07:41,085 --> 00:07:44,422 that are the foundations of ocean life. 55 00:07:55,057 --> 00:07:58,019 Dolphins explore the vast, open ocean 56 00:07:58,311 --> 00:08:03,065 in search of the riches that distant deserts may have nourished. 57 00:08:12,283 --> 00:08:16,579 A shoal of mackerel has discovered a swarm of krill... 58 00:08:18,414 --> 00:08:20,124 the small crustaceans 59 00:08:20,208 --> 00:08:23,544 that feed on the ocean's floating microscopic plants. 60 00:08:25,129 --> 00:08:28,966 But the mackerel themselves are food for the dolphins. 61 00:08:45,107 --> 00:08:48,152 They drive the mackerel towards the surface, 62 00:08:48,569 --> 00:08:51,197 and into the range of birds. 63 00:08:53,699 --> 00:08:55,034 Shearwaters. 64 00:08:56,827 --> 00:08:59,747 The wings that normally propel the birds through the air 65 00:08:59,830 --> 00:09:03,209 now drive them six meters down through the water. 66 00:09:10,716 --> 00:09:13,219 Whilst the birds pick off the top of the shoal... 67 00:09:17,098 --> 00:09:19,684 the dolphins attack the underside. 68 00:09:55,177 --> 00:09:57,263 After 20 minutes of feasting, 69 00:09:58,180 --> 00:10:00,975 the predators from both the sea and the air 70 00:10:01,892 --> 00:10:03,269 have had their fill. 71 00:10:21,037 --> 00:10:23,831 The stability of life on our planet 72 00:10:24,081 --> 00:10:28,419 relies on such connections between different habitats. 73 00:10:31,589 --> 00:10:34,717 Water evaporating from the surface of the sea 74 00:10:35,217 --> 00:10:38,137 condenses to form great clouds. 75 00:10:40,848 --> 00:10:46,687 And these eventually release the fresh water as rain. 76 00:10:50,900 --> 00:10:56,530 But these life-giving rains are not evenly spread over the land. 77 00:11:04,038 --> 00:11:06,749 This vast salt pan in Africa 78 00:11:07,667 --> 00:11:10,503 is all that remains of an ancient lake. 79 00:11:14,215 --> 00:11:17,551 It's totally waterless and oven-hot. 80 00:11:18,636 --> 00:11:22,264 Few places on the land are more hostile to life. 81 00:11:29,063 --> 00:11:35,277 A few tracks cross it, made by animals searching unsuccessfully for water. 82 00:11:55,589 --> 00:12:01,595 But very occasionally, this whole landscape is transformed. 83 00:12:20,531 --> 00:12:24,326 A huge deluge drenches the salt pan. 84 00:12:40,384 --> 00:12:42,845 Triggered by some unknown signal, 85 00:12:43,220 --> 00:12:48,726 flocks of lesser flamingos arrive from thousands of kilometers away. 86 00:12:59,612 --> 00:13:02,239 The algae that the flamingos feed on 87 00:13:02,573 --> 00:13:05,868 have lain dormant as spores in the dust. 88 00:13:10,790 --> 00:13:12,500 But most importantly, 89 00:13:13,000 --> 00:13:15,503 the birds are here to breed. 90 00:13:17,922 --> 00:13:22,760 Perfect conditions might occur only once in a decade. 91 00:13:29,016 --> 00:13:32,102 The birds nest on an island far from the shore. 92 00:13:34,855 --> 00:13:38,025 They build mounds of mud that raise up their eggs 93 00:13:38,108 --> 00:13:43,030 and so keep them just marginally cooler than they would be at ground level. 94 00:13:47,243 --> 00:13:50,204 The water surrounding the island is so salty 95 00:13:50,287 --> 00:13:52,790 that predators do not venture into it. 96 00:13:53,874 --> 00:13:55,835 So the nests are safe. 97 00:14:00,297 --> 00:14:05,177 Thirty days later, thousands of chicks start to hatch. 98 00:14:18,649 --> 00:14:22,570 But there is no shelter from the scorching sun. 99 00:14:25,739 --> 00:14:29,159 The water that once surrounded their island, protecting them, 100 00:14:29,493 --> 00:14:31,245 has now dried up altogether. 101 00:14:38,669 --> 00:14:43,799 The last to hatch step out into a desperately harsh world. 102 00:14:57,396 --> 00:15:02,568 Somehow or other, the growing chicks must find fresh water to drink. 103 00:15:07,114 --> 00:15:12,411 They cannot yet fly, so they must walk, guided by some of the adults. 104 00:15:26,759 --> 00:15:30,012 They may have to trek for 50 kilometers. 105 00:16:01,210 --> 00:16:03,963 Some... cannot keep up. 106 00:16:09,593 --> 00:16:12,888 The salt has solidified around their legs. 107 00:16:49,299 --> 00:16:52,094 Most of the chicks, in spite of everything, 108 00:16:52,428 --> 00:16:54,263 and having walked for days, 109 00:16:54,346 --> 00:16:56,724 eventually reach fresh water. 110 00:17:17,453 --> 00:17:19,538 It is the end of a long journey... 111 00:17:21,457 --> 00:17:26,295 but only the first of the trials that will be imposed on these flamingos 112 00:17:26,462 --> 00:17:29,048 by the irregularity of the rains. 113 00:17:39,308 --> 00:17:42,436 If rainfall is more predictable and certain, 114 00:17:42,519 --> 00:17:45,189 then life can flourish more richly, 115 00:17:46,315 --> 00:17:49,568 both in numbers and variety. 116 00:17:53,822 --> 00:17:59,453 The Serengeti plains in East Africa support over a million wildebeest. 117 00:18:02,456 --> 00:18:05,292 The herds follow the seasonal rains, 118 00:18:05,584 --> 00:18:09,421 grazing on the newly-sprouting grass that comes in their wake. 119 00:18:20,182 --> 00:18:22,726 Each year, within a three-week period, 120 00:18:23,018 --> 00:18:27,773 the females give birth to over a quarter of a million calves. 121 00:18:36,907 --> 00:18:39,743 This youngster is just a few days old. 122 00:18:40,869 --> 00:18:45,124 Playing strengthens its legs for the long journey that lies ahead. 123 00:19:16,697 --> 00:19:19,283 The calf must stay close to its mother. 124 00:19:19,825 --> 00:19:22,202 Without her milk, it would starve. 125 00:19:26,415 --> 00:19:28,959 And the herds are always traveling, 126 00:19:30,085 --> 00:19:33,172 following the rains as they drift across the plains 127 00:19:33,881 --> 00:19:35,799 in order to find fresh grazing. 128 00:19:39,845 --> 00:19:43,265 Eventually, they reach woodlands. 129 00:20:02,159 --> 00:20:03,660 Hunting dogs. 130 00:20:08,165 --> 00:20:11,168 Wildebeest calves are a favorite prey. 131 00:20:15,547 --> 00:20:17,382 And the dogs are hungry. 132 00:20:32,064 --> 00:20:36,485 The calf must stay with its mother, protected within the herd. 133 00:21:19,653 --> 00:21:22,030 The dogs have incredible stamina... 134 00:21:25,993 --> 00:21:28,704 but the calf is defended by the herd. 135 00:21:37,504 --> 00:21:39,631 They need the calf on its own. 136 00:21:58,275 --> 00:22:01,987 The mother blocks the dogs, shielding her calf. 137 00:22:09,661 --> 00:22:11,621 It makes a run for safety. 138 00:22:22,632 --> 00:22:25,761 And it just manages to get back to the herd. 139 00:22:52,496 --> 00:22:58,418 The future of this whole migration depends on the regularity of the rains, 140 00:22:59,378 --> 00:23:04,132 but also on the continued existence of the great open grasslands 141 00:23:04,299 --> 00:23:07,844 across which the herds make their immense journeys. 142 00:23:15,602 --> 00:23:21,608 In places where rains fall abundantly throughout the year, forests grow, 143 00:23:22,901 --> 00:23:25,070 and in the warmth of the tropics, 144 00:23:25,153 --> 00:23:28,573 they support an unparalleled richness of life. 145 00:23:32,035 --> 00:23:35,205 Half of all the species of land-living animals 146 00:23:35,288 --> 00:23:37,666 live in these stable worlds. 147 00:23:41,420 --> 00:23:44,714 The sheer diversity is breathtaking. 148 00:23:50,679 --> 00:23:52,639 We still have not catalogued 149 00:23:52,722 --> 00:23:56,143 all the species that live in the tropical forests. 150 00:24:10,699 --> 00:24:16,621 The relationships between them all are multitudinous and complex. 151 00:24:22,252 --> 00:24:26,339 Plants often depend on animals to pollinate their flowers. 152 00:24:30,010 --> 00:24:31,928 And these intimate connections 153 00:24:32,012 --> 00:24:35,682 are just as important as the great global ones. 154 00:24:45,442 --> 00:24:47,277 These are traps. 155 00:24:48,570 --> 00:24:50,739 Flowers shaped like buckets, 156 00:24:51,406 --> 00:24:52,782 produced by an orchid. 157 00:25:02,125 --> 00:25:07,255 Each red bucket is filled with an oily liquid that drips from above. 158 00:25:12,928 --> 00:25:18,850 Male orchid bees need a rich perfume with which to impress their females, 159 00:25:20,352 --> 00:25:22,562 and the orchids provide it. 160 00:25:25,941 --> 00:25:28,985 But the bucket is slippery, 161 00:25:31,988 --> 00:25:35,534 and the liquid into which the bee has fallen is sticky. 162 00:25:39,454 --> 00:25:40,997 The only way to get out 163 00:25:42,415 --> 00:25:44,167 is through a narrow tunnel. 164 00:25:47,629 --> 00:25:51,007 As it emerges, the bee is gripped tight. 165 00:25:53,677 --> 00:25:56,179 And that gives enough time for the plant 166 00:25:56,930 --> 00:26:00,183 to glue pollen sacs on the bee's back. 167 00:26:03,728 --> 00:26:08,149 So the orchid has its pollen taken to another plant... 168 00:26:10,610 --> 00:26:13,154 and the bee is rewarded with a perfume, 169 00:26:13,363 --> 00:26:16,116 with which, when it recovers its strength, 170 00:26:16,324 --> 00:26:18,201 it can woo a female. 171 00:26:25,625 --> 00:26:29,170 There are no pronounced seasons in a rainforest. 172 00:26:32,674 --> 00:26:37,012 It produces food in one form or another the year round. 173 00:26:41,141 --> 00:26:44,352 It's so rich that the females of some birds 174 00:26:44,436 --> 00:26:47,856 are able to raise their young entirely by themselves, 175 00:26:48,189 --> 00:26:52,777 and that allows the males to spend their whole time attracting females... 176 00:26:54,404 --> 00:26:55,822 ...as manakins do. 177 00:26:58,158 --> 00:27:00,452 There are over 50 different species, 178 00:27:00,535 --> 00:27:03,955 each with its own highly elaborate dance routine. 179 00:27:11,671 --> 00:27:13,381 The golden-collared manakin 180 00:27:13,757 --> 00:27:16,259 starts by clearing his dance floor. 181 00:27:25,018 --> 00:27:28,188 A female arrives and he starts his routine, 182 00:27:28,271 --> 00:27:30,565 rocketing from one perch to another. 183 00:27:35,111 --> 00:27:38,073 She checks out every detail. 184 00:27:47,248 --> 00:27:50,877 Finally, he performs his signature move. 185 00:27:52,921 --> 00:27:54,297 The back-flip... 186 00:27:58,301 --> 00:27:59,511 ...with twist. 187 00:28:04,057 --> 00:28:05,057 Perfection. 188 00:28:09,104 --> 00:28:13,024 The red-capped manakin has a very different act. 189 00:28:16,361 --> 00:28:18,697 It's a kind of slither. 190 00:28:28,873 --> 00:28:30,625 With wing snaps. 191 00:28:43,304 --> 00:28:45,682 But it doesn't seem to be working. 192 00:29:02,824 --> 00:29:04,325 She's seen enough. 193 00:29:09,247 --> 00:29:13,668 The most complex routine is that developed by the blue manakin. 194 00:29:15,462 --> 00:29:19,966 The lead male is supported by three junior dancers. 195 00:29:22,594 --> 00:29:25,305 They practice together almost every day. 196 00:29:28,141 --> 00:29:29,517 During rehearsals, 197 00:29:29,601 --> 00:29:33,646 a young male in juvenile plumage stands in for the female. 198 00:29:38,735 --> 00:29:41,696 The dance has to be perfectly synchronized. 199 00:29:48,203 --> 00:29:49,871 With the lead male happy... 200 00:29:53,208 --> 00:29:56,419 they're ready to present their dance to a female. 201 00:30:09,098 --> 00:30:13,520 In a carousel of movements, each male takes his turn at the front. 202 00:30:34,958 --> 00:30:37,794 The lead male performs the final move. 203 00:30:42,257 --> 00:30:43,508 Have they done enough? 204 00:30:45,510 --> 00:30:46,719 What's her decision? 205 00:30:53,351 --> 00:30:54,351 It's... 206 00:30:54,727 --> 00:30:55,812 a yes! 207 00:31:00,358 --> 00:31:01,985 A great team effort. 208 00:31:07,574 --> 00:31:12,495 Tropical forests cover only seven percent of the planet's lands. 209 00:31:14,414 --> 00:31:18,084 Away from the tropics, where the weather is seasonal and cooler, 210 00:31:18,501 --> 00:31:19,752 they're very different. 211 00:31:23,381 --> 00:31:26,968 The greatest of all is the boreal forest 212 00:31:27,635 --> 00:31:31,347 that extends right across North America and Eurasia. 213 00:31:38,438 --> 00:31:41,983 It cannot grow during the frigid grip of winter. 214 00:31:46,279 --> 00:31:48,948 The forests are a crucial refuge 215 00:31:49,407 --> 00:31:53,786 for the relatively few species that are able to survive here. 216 00:32:03,254 --> 00:32:04,672 As winter approaches, 217 00:32:05,131 --> 00:32:08,593 caribou grazing on the open tundra to the north 218 00:32:09,052 --> 00:32:13,431 head south to the forest to seek food and shelter. 219 00:32:25,026 --> 00:32:29,906 Out here, temperatures may fall below minus 40 degrees centigrade. 220 00:32:38,456 --> 00:32:42,835 The forest will give some protection from the worst of the weather. 221 00:33:08,861 --> 00:33:13,241 But now the caribou are not traveling alone. 222 00:33:22,834 --> 00:33:23,834 Wolves. 223 00:33:24,877 --> 00:33:27,255 They live in the forest year-round. 224 00:33:32,760 --> 00:33:36,597 And in the winter, they specialize in hunting caribou. 225 00:33:51,487 --> 00:33:53,906 They must find the freshest tracks. 226 00:34:05,501 --> 00:34:08,880 They move fast by avoiding the deep snow, 227 00:34:09,547 --> 00:34:13,134 sticking to the hard-packed trails made by the caribou. 228 00:34:18,473 --> 00:34:21,142 This wolf has found fresh scent. 229 00:34:31,486 --> 00:34:33,321 The caribou must be close. 230 00:34:43,748 --> 00:34:48,419 The herd chooses to stop to rest on a frozen lake. 231 00:34:50,755 --> 00:34:54,217 Out in the open, they will be able to spot approaching danger. 232 00:34:58,096 --> 00:35:01,265 And sure enough, the wolves catch up. 233 00:35:15,738 --> 00:35:17,949 They start to test the caribou, 234 00:35:18,866 --> 00:35:20,576 probing for any weakness. 235 00:35:33,631 --> 00:35:35,091 Out on the open lake, 236 00:35:36,050 --> 00:35:38,594 the caribou can outrun the wolves... 237 00:35:45,393 --> 00:35:48,354 so the wolves drive them back into the forest. 238 00:35:56,571 --> 00:36:01,534 Here, in the deep snow, progress is much harder and slower. 239 00:36:10,668 --> 00:36:14,881 And, hidden by the trees, the wolves can get closer. 240 00:36:20,678 --> 00:36:22,346 The hunt is on. 241 00:36:34,942 --> 00:36:38,988 The pack must decide which particular caribou to target 242 00:36:40,865 --> 00:36:42,408 and which trail to take. 243 00:36:49,665 --> 00:36:51,250 As the caribou scatter, 244 00:36:53,461 --> 00:36:56,214 the leading wolf takes a wrong turn. 245 00:36:59,967 --> 00:37:04,764 It's a crucial mistake, and the wolves abandon the chase. 246 00:37:14,065 --> 00:37:18,402 With the coming of spring, the caribou will head north once more, 247 00:37:18,653 --> 00:37:21,614 leaving the wolves and the forest behind. 248 00:37:24,617 --> 00:37:29,747 They will travel 600 kilometers, crossing mountains to reach the tundra, 249 00:37:30,039 --> 00:37:32,875 where the spring grass will be sprouting again, 250 00:37:33,417 --> 00:37:34,835 and they can give birth. 251 00:37:37,380 --> 00:37:42,218 But these migrations are a shadow of what they once were. 252 00:37:44,345 --> 00:37:48,307 The herd has lost nearly 70 percent of its numbers 253 00:37:48,391 --> 00:37:50,268 in the last 20 years. 254 00:37:53,312 --> 00:37:58,150 Their world and all of our planet is now changing fast. 255 00:38:05,032 --> 00:38:07,660 At the furthest polar extremes 256 00:38:08,286 --> 00:38:13,541 lie the frozen wildernesses of Antarctica and the Arctic. 257 00:38:18,087 --> 00:38:21,173 Though they may seem remote to many of us, 258 00:38:21,966 --> 00:38:27,388 the stability of these icy wastes is crucial to all life on the planet. 259 00:38:33,185 --> 00:38:39,025 But in just 70 years, things have changed at a frightening pace. 260 00:38:41,569 --> 00:38:46,449 The polar regions are warming faster than any other part of the planet. 261 00:38:53,622 --> 00:38:57,710 The Arctic in the north is a frozen ocean, 262 00:38:59,670 --> 00:39:03,466 and the sea ice, on which all life here depends, 263 00:39:04,508 --> 00:39:05,634 is disappearing. 264 00:39:21,525 --> 00:39:22,777 Polar bears 265 00:39:23,361 --> 00:39:27,406 specialize in hunting seals out on the frozen ocean. 266 00:39:33,120 --> 00:39:38,042 But that world is now, literally, melting beneath their feet. 267 00:39:42,338 --> 00:39:44,799 The sea ice breaks up every year, 268 00:39:45,341 --> 00:39:47,385 but now this is happening earlier, 269 00:39:47,718 --> 00:39:51,347 and the bears' limited hunting season is getting shorter. 270 00:39:53,849 --> 00:39:57,103 This is already having a profound impact. 271 00:40:09,532 --> 00:40:11,951 Cubs are growing up underweight, 272 00:40:14,161 --> 00:40:16,580 which reduces their chances of survival. 273 00:40:35,099 --> 00:40:37,643 Within the lifetime of these cubs, 274 00:40:37,726 --> 00:40:42,731 the Arctic in summer could be largely free of sea ice. 275 00:40:58,831 --> 00:41:02,251 It's not just the sea ice that is vanishing. 276 00:41:03,878 --> 00:41:08,174 The ice that lies on land is also changing fast. 277 00:41:12,803 --> 00:41:14,847 This is Greenland, 278 00:41:15,681 --> 00:41:20,853 a vast expanse of ice one-fifth the size of the United States. 279 00:41:28,068 --> 00:41:31,614 This glacial ice, together with the sea ice, 280 00:41:31,906 --> 00:41:37,077 protects our planet by reflecting solar radiation away from the surface 281 00:41:37,286 --> 00:41:40,289 and so preventing the Earth from overheating. 282 00:41:45,878 --> 00:41:48,881 But the Arctic is warming dramatically. 283 00:41:56,430 --> 00:42:00,893 The leading edge of the Store Glacier may appear to be motionless, 284 00:42:02,102 --> 00:42:06,106 but glaciers can move at up to 45 meters a day. 285 00:42:13,072 --> 00:42:18,035 Where this one meets the sea, it towers 100 meters above the water, 286 00:42:19,537 --> 00:42:22,831 and continues downward for another 400 meters 287 00:42:22,915 --> 00:42:24,333 beneath the surface. 288 00:43:07,876 --> 00:43:12,840 Over the last 20 years, Greenland has been losing ice. 289 00:43:19,138 --> 00:43:22,766 And the rate of loss is accelerating. 290 00:43:38,073 --> 00:43:41,452 These massive icefalls from the top of the glacier 291 00:43:41,827 --> 00:43:43,370 are just the beginnings 292 00:43:43,829 --> 00:43:45,789 of a far greater event. 293 00:43:50,586 --> 00:43:55,215 A stretch of the front face of the glacier over a kilometer long 294 00:43:55,299 --> 00:43:57,343 is starting to break away. 295 00:44:08,520 --> 00:44:11,190 From 400 meters beneath the surface, 296 00:44:11,732 --> 00:44:14,652 the hidden ice is surging upwards. 297 00:44:32,711 --> 00:44:36,590 The breakaway of an iceberg the size of a skyscraper 298 00:44:37,633 --> 00:44:40,678 generates a colossal tidal wave. 299 00:45:56,670 --> 00:46:02,885 Within 20 minutes, 75 million tons of ice break free. 300 00:46:10,100 --> 00:46:13,771 Glaciers have always released ice into the ocean, 301 00:46:14,938 --> 00:46:18,192 but now this is happening nearly twice as fast 302 00:46:18,275 --> 00:46:20,360 as it did ten years ago. 303 00:46:23,572 --> 00:46:29,119 Around the world, ice is now feeding vast amounts of fresh water into the sea, 304 00:46:29,828 --> 00:46:35,626 raising sea levels, changing salinity, and disrupting ocean currents. 305 00:46:39,004 --> 00:46:44,343 Without the Humboldt Current, the coast of Peru would fall silent. 306 00:46:45,803 --> 00:46:48,889 The seabird spectacle would be no more. 307 00:47:00,526 --> 00:47:05,489 All across our planet, crucial connections are being disrupted. 308 00:47:09,409 --> 00:47:14,665 The stability that we and all life relies upon is being lost. 309 00:47:18,043 --> 00:47:21,088 What we do in the next 20 years 310 00:47:22,422 --> 00:47:26,635 will determine the future for all life on Earth. 311 00:47:35,435 --> 00:47:40,566 The rest of this series will explore the planet's most important habitats, 312 00:47:42,067 --> 00:47:45,779 and celebrate the life they still support. 313 00:47:53,370 --> 00:47:56,790 We will reveal what must be preserved 314 00:47:56,999 --> 00:48:03,672 if we are to ensure a future where humans and nature can thrive. 315 00:48:13,807 --> 00:48:19,605 Please visit ourplanet.com to find out how our planet can thrive again. 316 00:48:24,776 --> 00:48:29,239 ♪ I can hear the whole world Singing together ♪ 317 00:48:31,533 --> 00:48:37,748 ♪ I can hear the whole world say "It's now or never" ♪ 318 00:48:40,292 --> 00:48:44,713 ♪ 'Cause it's not too late If we change our ways ♪ 319 00:48:44,796 --> 00:48:48,467 ♪ And connect the dots to our problems ♪ 320 00:48:48,550 --> 00:48:54,598 ♪ I can hear the whole world say "We're in this together" ♪ 321 00:48:54,681 --> 00:48:56,683 ♪ We're in this together ♪