This phenomenon is known as a mass extinction event, and it’s defined as the loss of 75% of the Earth’s species within a relatively short geological period, less than 2.8 million years.
Scientists have been studying this concerning trend and have found that current extinction rates are strikingly higher, between 1000 to 10,000 times higher than the natural “background” extinction rates. This has led some experts to believe that our planet is currently undergoing its sixth mass extinction event.
One of the primary causes of this devastating loss of biodiversity is the destructive impact of human activities. Many species are facing decline due to habitat loss, fragmentation, and degradation caused by human development.
Pesticides, herbicides, and other chemicals used widely in agriculture have also had negative effects on invasive species. And climate change, which has accelerated beyond control, only makes these issues worse.
Conservation status assessments have traditionally relied on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). According to their evaluations of over 150,300 species, 28% of them are considered threatened with extinction, with approximately 1% already declared extinct.
