A 23-year-old journalist from Kumasi, Ghana, has broken the Guinness World Record for the longest time to hug a tree.

Abdul Hakim Awal’s “tree-hug-a-thon” took place outside Kumasi Cultural Centre. It lasted 24 hours 21 minutes.

The previous record was 16 hours and it was set by Ugandan environmental activist Faith Patricia Ariokot earlier this year.

Abdul took on this challenge to highlight the importance of nature conservation in Ghana.

He made a pledge to plant a new tree for every minute his record attempt lasted, finishing at a total of 1,461.

Abdul was not permitted any breaks during his record attempt, according to GWR. He had to remain standing and keep his arms wrapped around the tree throughout the entire duration.

Now that the record stands at 24 hours – the point at which record attempts are considered ‘marathons’ – the title has been modified to longest marathon hugging a tree.

This means that future challengers will be permitted breaks (a total of two hours per day) in order to combat the harmful effects of sleep deprivation.

Abdul is not the first Ghanaian to set a tree-hugging world record this year. A forestry student, Abubakar Tahiru, set a record for the most trees hugged in one hour with a total of 1,123 trees.

Meanwhile, people have gone on X to question what kind of record tree-hugging is, with Nigerians mocking Ghanaians for always attempting “anyhow records”.