00:00252 million years ago, life almost ended, not from an asteroid, but from Earth itself.
00:07Across a supercontinent, the Siberian traps began to erupt.
00:11A volcanic province the size of Western Europe spewed endless lava and choking gas for 2 million years.
00:18The atmosphere buckled, CO2 and methane surged, sparking runaway warming.
00:23The air became toxic, the rain became acid, and the oceans, absorbing the carbon, turned deadly acidic.
00:30The result was the Permian-Triassic extinction, the Great Dying.
00:35Up to 96% of all marine species vanished, and 70% of land vertebrates vanished into the dust.
00:42It would take 10 million years for life to recover.
00:45Tip the climate too far and the planet can reset itself.
00:49Stability isn't guaranteed, it's a balance.
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