Lead author Katherine Richardson, professor in biological oceanography and leader of the Sustainability Science Centre at the University of Copenhagen explains further:“We can think of Earth as a human body, and the planetary boundaries as blood pressure. Over 120/80 does not indicate a certain heart attack but it does raise the risk and, therefore, we work to reduce blood pressure. This boundary is not transgressed yet, but rising pressures are evident in large regions where air particle pollution impacts monsoon systems. The novel entities boundary has now been quantified, and the assessment confirms that it is transgressed. It includes the introduction and accumulation of all novel chemical compounds created by humans, such as microplastics, pesticides and nuclear waste.