Humans are pushing life on Earth toward the next mass extinction

Every era leaves its fingerprint on Earth. Mountains rise, oceans retreat, and life adapts. But this age – our age – moves differently. Humans now alter the planet faster than nature can adjust.

From forests to coral reefs, the evidence piles up: humans may be igniting the greatest extinction event since the asteroid that erased the dinosaurs.

This warning comes from a sweeping review published in Global Change Biology. The researchers combined decades of studies and insights from ecologists and paleobiologists.

The goal was to compare today’s biodiversity losses with those preserved in the fossil record. What the experts found is both shocking and strangely familiar.

Humans driving extinction

The scientists agree: extinction rates today are exceptionally high. Yet, technically, the planet has not entered a full “mass extinction.” Not yet. If biodiversity keeps collapsing at its current pace, that threshold might soon be crossed.

“The pace of change we’re seeing today is unlike anything we know of in the past 66 million years, but crucially, it’s not too late,” noted Dr. Jack Hatfield from the Leverhulme Centre for Anthropocene Biodiversity.

“It’s a complex, nuanced story, but the message is clear – our species has become a defining force in Earth’s history, and we still have the power to decide how that story ends.”

Footprints of the past

Human impact reaches far deeper into time than most realize. Around 130,000 years ago, early humans began spreading across continents. Wherever they went, ecosystems changed.

Mammoths, giant ground sloths, and saber-toothed predators faded into memory. As time passed, smaller islands suffered too – the Tasmanian tiger and Steller’s sea cow became part of a long and growing list.

The pattern is unmistakable. Each wave of human expansion brought new extinctions. Unlike the asteroid strike that ended the dinosaurs, our influence spreads gradually. But in scale and reach, it’s extraordinary.

The asteroid took minutes; humanity has taken millennia. The outcome, however, could still rival that ancient disaster.

Human impact through time

Among the ancient events studied, the Eocene-Oligocene extinction (about 34 million years ago) stands out. It began with global cooling and the formation of vast Antarctic ice sheets.

Mammals disappeared across continents as the climate shifted and food chains broke apart.

That ancient transition unfolded over millions of years. Today, similar levels of biodiversity loss may occur within a few thousand years – or less.

The difference lies in speed and cause. Then, it was natural forces. Now, it’s human activity: deforestation, industrial waste, fossil fuels, and overexploitation of land and sea.

What the fossil record reveals

The fossil record is a time capsule of vanished worlds. It reminds us how delicate life can be and how resilient it tries to remain. Even so, adaptation has limits. Past species took millennia to adjust; modern ecosystems barely get decades.

“Although over a much longer timescale, the Eocene-Oligocene event still shows us the power of major climatic changes to alter life on our planet,” Dr. Hatfield said.

“Our review also highlights the difficulty of comparing the present and the past; there are gaps in the fossil record, unknown species, and extinctions that go unnoticed today, which all cloud the picture.”

“But if we bring what we do know together, the evidence still points to a rapidly shifting world that has been driven almost entirely by human activity, and it’s now in our hands to change this picture.”

Humans can stop extinction

Unlike previous catastrophes, this one carries a choice. Humans can continue reshaping the planet into silence – or begin restoring what remains. Forests can regrow. Rivers can heal. Species on the edge can recover.

Mass extinction is not destiny; it’s direction. Changing course demands intent, not miracles. Each action, whether local or global, rewrites the planet’s trajectory.

Earth has survived five great extinctions before. Each wiped the slate clean and birthed a new chapter of life. The sixth one is still being written.

The question is who will be left to read it, and whether humanity’s choices will create a world of renewal or leave behind a silent planet struggling to recover from its most dominant species.

The study is published in the journal Global Change Biology.

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