World's wildlife populations in 'free fall' due to human activity, report says

What happens in the next five years will 'determine the future of life on Earth', the WWF's latest Living Planet report says

Fire consumes the Amazon rainforest in Altamira, Brazil, in 2019. Deforestation and climate change could soon lead to a point where it is no longer suitable for tropical rainforest. File photo: AP/Leo Correa

Nature is in "free fall" as a result of human activity, with global wildlife populations falling by nearly three quarters in 50 years, conservationists warn.

The world is fast approaching dangerous and irreversible "tipping points" in natural systems such as the Amazon rainforest and the polar ice caps, which pose grave threats to humanity and wildlife, a new report from conservation charity WWF says.