David Attenborough admits he's 'approaching the end of his life' in heartbreaking statement

Sir David Attenborough has reflected on his life as he narrates over breathtaking shots of our planet and its sea.

Next Thursday (May 8), the latest documentary to feature the 98-year-old, titled Ocean with David Attenborough will be released - with the date coinciding with his 99th birthday.

It'll be a new addition to the long list of nature documentaries made by Attenborough, which also include Blue Planet, Planet Earth, and Africa.

In a clip released ahead of its release in US theaters, the British biologist spoke about the challenges that Earth is facing and how the ocean is being affected.

"When I first saw the sea as a young boy, it was thought of as a vast wilderness to be tamed and mastered for the benefit of humanity," Attenborough shared.

"Now, as I approach the end of my life, we know the opposite is true.

"After living for nearly a hundred years on this planet, I now understand that the most important place on Earth is not on land, but at sea."

In the documentary, Attenborough will be exploring the 'story of our ocean' to 'reveal the greatest age of ocean discovery and emphasizing the ocean's vital importance while exposing its problems and highlighting opportunities for marine life recovery'.

In Ocean with David Attenborough, the presenter describes the ocean as humanity's 'greatest asset against climate change', before adding: "Today, it is in such poor health I would find it hard not to lose hope were it not for the most remarkable discovery of all.

"If we save the sea, we save our world. After a lifetime of filming our planet, I’m sure nothing is more important."

Sir David Attenborough, pictured back in 2023, has admitted that his life is coming to an end (Dave Benett/Getty Images)

Whether Attenborough will feature on-screen in the one-hour-35-minute film remains to be seen.

Once a fixture of his documentaries, scenes of the London-born adventurist exploring far-flung corners of the world are becoming increasingly rare these days.

The environmentalist admitting back in 2020 that he was scaling back the amount of travelling he was prepared to do for his shows, saying that as he grew older his 'heart was sinking deeper and deeper' at the thought of spending time on long flights.

Attenborough has also acknowledged he feels trapped in a 'paradox' when it comes to the environmental cost of the travel required to film environmental documentaries aiming to spread awareness of climate change.

But as he told the Radio Times, being able to see nature up close still carries a 'hypnotic appeal'.

While Ocean with David Attenborough will be released solely in theatres, it is understood that it will be rolled out globally on National Geographic, Disney+, and Hulu, later in the year.