TV legend Sir David Attenborough today warns the world not to let coronavirus deflect it from another global battle – with climate change.

The champion of the natural world is washing his hands and observing social distance guidelines like the rest of us.

But Sir David – whose film A Life On Our Planet has been put back to November because of the pandemic – says the virus is no real surprise.

He tells the Sunday Mirror: “There’s always been plagues. There are diseases.

“That is part of the natural world and tightly packed as we are and travel as we do, it is hardly surprising

it spreads.

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Sir David is passionate about the planet (BBC)

“We have a short term problem with coronavirus so we quarantine and do this or that.

“The consequence is, nobody takes any action on the climate at all if we are not careful.

“We hope the film can be part of the public debate and show that when governments are bothered, they

take action.

A life spent on air (BBC)

“The environmental crisis is coming to a very critical point where politicians need convincing by the electorate that the electorate are serious.”

Sir David’s movie was due for release next month. It charts his astonishing 70-year career and highlights just how the natural world is being eroded.

He also hopes it will be shown in schools as a warning to the next generation.

Another Attenborough hit is due out later this year (PA)

The veteran campaigner feels guilty about his own carbon footprint – and even frets about putting the heating on.

But he accepts there are environmental pitfalls to modern life.

Sir David, 93, says: “I thought I’d put on a jersey and not turn on the electric bar to write what I had been writing and, of course, you do those things. But let’s not say, ‘Forgive me for breathing’.

A scene from Our Planet - as "Pacific Herring move into shallow waters in spring to spawn. Many of the world’s fish stocks are now in serious decline and a third of them have collapsed altogether," in Sitka, Alaska USA (Gisle Sverdrup/Silverback/Netflix)

“We all have a carbon footprint, but it doesn’t mean you have to wear a hairshirt or don’t ever cross the Atlantic.

“It’s perfectly proper to travel in Europe in order to live a civilised life, and producing carbon dioxide is inevitable so we couldn’t suddenly say we’ve got to stop living.

“All you can do is make sure you live to certain standards and take elementary attitudes towards electricity.”

Sir David’s pet hate is the over-use of plastic. He says:

“I get letters which drive me spare talking about how important the environment is – sent in pointless plastic envelopes.

“I mean, ludicrous. It’s of no consequence whatsoever, it costs more in transporting and it pollutes the world for no reason.”