global climate

The Great Dying once wiped out 90% of life on Earth. A new theory may explain why

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Sign up for CNN’s Wonder Theory science newsletter. Explore the universe with news about fascinating discoveries, scientific developments and more. About 252 million years ago, a natural disaster struck the planet, wiping out more than 90% of all life. The mass extinction that ended the Permian is known as the Great Extinction and was the … Read more

The climate is changing so fast that we have not yet seen how extreme weather can get

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Extreme weather is by definition rare on our planet. Violent storms, scorching heat waves and biting cold spells illustrate what the climate is capable of at its worst. But as the Earth’s climate warms rapidly, largely due to the burning of fossil fuels, the range of possible weather events, including extremes, is changing. Scientists define … Read more