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Tim Harford explains the numbers and statistics in the news and in life

Tim Harford explains the numbers and statistics in the news and in life.

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More or Less: Insectageddon

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Dragonfly

02/03/2019 GMT

Insectageddon

BBC World Service - More or Less, Insectageddon

Could insects go extinct in one hundred years?

A recent global scientific review found that more than 40% of insects are declining at a rate of 2.5% per year.

Insects live all around us and if a recent scientific review is anything to go by, then they are on the path to extinction. The analysis found that more than 40% of insect species are decreasing and that a decline rate of 2.5% a year suggests they could disappear in 100 years. And as some headlines in February warned of the catastrophic collapse of nature, some More or Less listeners questioned the findings. Is insect life really in trouble?

Presenter: Ruth Alexander
Producer: Darin Graham

(Image: Hairy hawker dragonfly. Credit: Science Photo Library)

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