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๐Ÿฆ‹ Biodiversity

The Sixth Mass Extinction

Species are disappearing 1,000ร— faster than natural background rate; scientists call it a biodiversity crisis

Global ๐ŸŒ 2010 Biodiversity

Key Facts

  1. 1

    Current extinction rate: 1,000ร— natural background rate; 1 million species threatened (IPBES 2019)

  2. 2

    Causes: habitat loss (biggest), hunting, invasive species, pollution, climate change (HIPCC)

  3. 3

    India: Project Tiger (1973) saved Bengal Tiger from extinction โ€” grew from 1,827 (2010) to 3,167 (2022)

๐ŸŒฟ Did you know? The previous 5 mass extinctions were caused by asteroids, volcanoes or ice ages; the 6th is being caused by one species โ€” humans

Quick Reference

Category

Biodiversity

Country

๐ŸŒ Global

Year / Era

2010

About

Species are disappearing 1,000ร— faster than natural background rate

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