Climate activists paint over Darwin's grave at London's Westminster Abbey

Climate activists from Just Stop Oil vandalized Charles Darwin’s grave at London’s Westminster Abbey on Monday in a protest against the global temperature rise exceeding 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels.

The activists used orange spray chalk to write “1.5 is dead” on Darwin’s white marble gravestone, located in the Abbey’s Scientists’ Corner, where luminaries like Isaac Newton and Stephen Hawking are also buried.

Climate activists from 'Just Stop Oil' paint over the grave of British naturalist Charles Darwin at Westminster Abbey in London, Britain, January 13, 2025, in this screengrab obtained from a video.Reuters

“We have passed the 1.5-degree threshold that was supposed to keep us safe,” one activist said in a statement, adding, “Darwin would be turning in his grave to know we are in the midst of the sixth mass extinction.”

London’s Metropolitan Police arrested two women at the scene on suspicion of causing criminal damage.

Westminster Abbey confirmed the incident, noting that its conservators took immediate steps to clean the gravestone and did not anticipate any permanent damage.

“The Abbey remains open for visiting and worshipping,” a spokesperson said.

Climate activists from 'Just Stop Oil' protest after they painted over the grave of British naturalist Charles Darwin at Westminster Abbey in London, Britain, January 13, 2025.Reuters

This protest is the latest in a series of high-profile actions by Just Stop Oil, which aims to draw attention to the climate crisis.

Previous demonstrations have included throwing soup at Van Gogh paintings, disrupting public events, and painting the U.S. embassy building in London.

Darwin, the renowned naturalist behind the theory of evolution by natural selection, died in 1882. Activists referenced his work and legacy, suggesting he would have opposed the inaction leading to the current climate emergency.