World wildlife populations have fallen by half since the 1970s, according to the London Zoological Society. 

Mammals, birds reptiles, amphibians actually have worse population numbers than previously thought. Their numbers dropped a whopping 52 percent. Freshwater fish fared worse with their numbers plunging by an alarming 76 percent, said the society. 

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A new method used to measure wildlife populations has proven to be more accurate compared to past reports, said a new report in the society's Living Planet Index. The index tracked more than 10,000 vertebrate species populations from 1970 to 2010.

It reveals a non-stop drop in these animal populations and this global trend isn't slowing down.

Under the new weighted method, arriving at an accurate picture of the rate of population decline for species in that region has to compare two species.

If most measurements in a region are of bird populations, but the greatest actual number of vertebrates in the region are fish, it's necessary to give a greater weight to measurements of fish populations.

After applying this new method to the 2008 data, scientists discovered that wildlife populations had significantly worse numbers. More ominously, this is becoming a trend applicable to all species.

The main cause of this decline in species populations is due to habitat and environment destruction and human disturbance.

According to Stephen Buckland from the National Center for Statistical Ecology in the UK, tropical areas are the hardest hit in this population decline despite their rich biodiversity as opposed to temperate areas.

This population drop has been a disturbing phenomenon for decades with local governments and authorities, including global environmental agencies, finding it difficult to scan these areas.

Hence, this study recommends monitoring areas where species decline is most prevalent, areas where most human interference is widespread.

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