We’ve Already Exhausted Earth’s Resources – Overshoot Day Arrived on July 24 in 2025

According to the Global Footprint Network, we would now need 1.7 Earths to sustain our current lifestyle. The trend has been worsening for decades: over the past 50 years, the global Overshoot Day has crept forward by five months. Overconsumption affects every aspect of life – from soil and water depletion to deforestation and fish stock exhaustion – and intensifies climate change, biodiversity loss, and the risk of natural disasters.

Hungary Is Also Overshooting – By a Lot

Hungary is no exception: in 2024, the country’s Overshoot Day fell on June 8, while in 2025 it came even earlier, on May 25. This indicates that if everyone lived like the average Hungarian, we would need 2.1 Earths to maintain that standard of living.

The main contributors to Hungary’s ecological footprint are energy consumption and food production. While Hungary sits in the European mid-range, the average European lifestyle still demands the resources of 2.9 Earths, and the American average exceeds that even further. Paradoxically, the world’s poorest countries, which have the smallest ecological footprints, are suffering the greatest environmental damages – despite being the least responsible for global overuse.

Shrinking Timeline, Growing Pressure

According to the latest data from CHART by Pénzcentrum, the world is depleting the Earth’s capacity faster each year. This is a global challenge with regional consequences: the impacts of overconsumption – soil degradation, water scarcity, floods, and loss of biodiversity – affect everyone, especially those regions that contributed the least to the problem.

Experts agree that reversing the trend will require systemic changes in the energy, agricultural, transportation, and industrial sectors, along with significant shifts in individual consumption habits. Although there is still a window for meaningful change, projections indicate the situation could worsen by the end of the decade if no action is taken.