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IFLScience The Big Questions: Are We Living Through A Sixth Mass Extinction?

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clock-iconPUBLISHEDJuly 3, 2025
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IFLScience The Big Questions: Are We Living Through A Sixth Mass Extinction?

And what might be done to stop it?

Eleanor Higgs headshot

Eleanor Higgs

Eleanor Higgs headshot

Eleanor Higgs

Digital Content Creator

Eleanor has an undergraduate degree in zoology from the University of Reading and a master’s in wildlife documentary production from the University of Salford.

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Digital Content Creator

Eleanor has an undergraduate degree in zoology from the University of Reading and a master’s in wildlife documentary production from the University of Salford.View full profile

Eleanor has an undergraduate degree in zoology from the University of Reading and a master’s in wildlife documentary production from the University of Salford.

View full profile
A phone showing season 5 of The Big Questions, on background of a forest fire

The last mass extinction event wiped out the non-avian dinosaurs.

Image credit: Quantum Hydra/Shutterstock.com; modified by IFLScience

While climate change, species extinctions, and increasing carbon dioxide levels might feel like media buzzwords at this point, they all remain very real threats to biodiversity across the globe, and by extension, the future of our planet. Some have even argued that these are warning signs that we are living through a sixth mass extinction.

The rest of this article is behind a paywall. Please sign in or subscribe to access the full content.

Host Eleanor Higgs discusses Earth’s previous mass extinctions with palaeontologist Professor Michael Benton from the University of Bristol, and how we can use this history as a basis to understand what is happening again right before our eyes – and what might be done to stop it.

You can listen to this episode and subscribe to the podcast on all your favorite podcast apps: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Podbean, Amazon Music, and more.

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ORIGINALLY PUBLISHEDJuly 3, 2025

Written by Eleanor Higgs

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