Sir David Attenborough joins Instagram to say 'the world is in trouble', breaks world record

Sir David Attenborough has joined Instagram in order to raise awareness of climate change, telling followers "the world is in trouble."

The 94-year-old English broadcaster broke the world record by accruing one million followers within four hours of sharing his first post.

At the time of writing, Attenborough has reached 2.2 million followers.

In a video message, he directly addressed fans to promote an environmentally conscious message.

"I am making this move… because, as we all know, the world is in trouble," he said. "Continents are on fire. Glaciers are melting. Coral reefs are dying … The list goes on and on. Saving our planet is now a communications challenge."

Jennifer Aniston was the previous record holder when she gained one million followers in five hours and 15 minutes.

READ MORE: Prince William interviews Sir David Attenborough in passionate plea to save the planet

Attenborough said he'd be using the platform to reveal "what the problems are and how we can deal with them".

He ended his video by saying, "join me — or as we used to say in those early days of radio, stay tuned."

Attenborough's Instagram debut comes before the release of his new book and Netflix documentary, both titled A Life On Our Planet.

His longtime collaborators, Jonnie Hughes and Colin Butfield, will assist in running the account.