Number of species at risk of extinction doubles to 2 million, says study

New research on insects - without which the planet would not survive - shows a higher proportion are at risk of disappearing

Read more: How the extinction of insects would transform our planet

Two million species are at risk of extinction, a figure that is double previous UN estimates, new analysis has found.

While scientists have long documented the decline of species of plants and vertebrates, there has always been significant uncertainty over insects, with the UN making a tentative estimate" of 10% threatened with extinction in 2019.