Climate crisis 233m years ago reshaped life on Earth, say scientists

Volcanic eruptions drove global heating, causing mass extinctions and ushering in dinosaur era

A mass extinction event sparked by a sudden shift in climate more than 200m years ago reshaped life on Earth and ushered in the age of the dinosaurs, scientists claim.

An international team reviewed geological evidence and the fossil record and found that enormous volcanic eruptions in what is now western Canada coincided with a global loss of plants and animals.