health
February 5, 2026
‘Stark warning’: pesticide harm to wildlife rising globally, study finds
Toxicity from farm chemicals increased for most species groups between 2013 and 2019, with insects worst affected
TL;DR
- Ecological harm from pesticides is increasing globally, affecting insects, fish, pollinators, and plants.
- Insects experienced the greatest increase in harm from synthetic farm chemicals (42.9%) between 2013 and 2019.
- Soil organisms faced a 30.8% increase in harm.
- Aquatic plants and land-based vertebrates were the only groups for which danger fell.
- The study examined 65 countries, representing almost 80% of global farmland.
- Total applied toxicity fell in Europe and China but increased in much of Africa, India, the US, Brazil, and Russia.
- Chile is the only country on track to meet the UN target of reducing pesticide risk by 50% by 2030.
- Researchers used the total applied toxicity (TAT) framework and safety thresholds from seven regulatory authorities.
- Urgent global measures are needed, such as agricultural diversification, less intensive soil management, organic farming conversion, and switching to less toxic pesticides.
- Long-term, high-quality data is needed globally to assess the status and trends of applied toxicities.
Continue reading the original article