The term “sixth mass extinction/sixth extinction” is often mentioned in the news in the context of the discussion of
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Answer: D. The 'sixth mass extinction' refers to the current loss of species caused by humans: overuse of resources, loss and fragmentation of habitats, destruction of ecosystems, pollution and climate change. So option D.
Watch for: The dinosaur extinction is the famous one, so students link 'extinction' with meteorites.
Why the other options are wrong
- A. Wrong because monoculture is only one small part of the human-caused problem.
- B. Wrong because the sixth extinction is human-driven, not a feared meteorite strike.
- C. Wrong because GM crops are not what the term describes.
Source to check: IUCN Red List; Ceballos, Ehrlich and Dirzo, 'Biological annihilation via the ongoing sixth mass extinction', PNAS (2017)
Answer from the official UPSC key. Written and fact-checked by AI against the official key. Spotted a mistake? Report it.