Holocene Extinction (ongoing)

The Holocene Extinction is the only ongoing event on this list, with modern extinction rates running 100 to 1,000 times higher than the natural background rate. An estimated one million species now face extinction within decades due to habitat destruction, climate change, pollution, and overexploitation—a pace faster than the average for any previous mass extinction. Since 1500, at least 875 species have been officially declared extinct, but the true figure is likely many times higher. This event is projected to exceed #7 (the Quaternary Megafauna Extinction) in total biodiversity loss if current trends continue.