THE cause of a huge volcano eruption which led to the demise of 90percent of life on Earth has been discovered by scientists for the first time. Earth’s most devastating extinction was triggered by Siberian volcanic eruptions 250 million years ago. Hardly any species survived the Great Permian Extinction, known as the “Great Dying”, which lasted one million years. The event wiped out more than 95 percent of marine life and 70 percent of land animals.

Catastrophic environmental changes also resulted from the period. But scientists have not known what it was that wiped out life – until now. Geoscientists have now unearthed exactly why the eruption was so devastating. In a new research paper, geoscientists claim the million-year-long eruption released chemicals into the atmosphere that were so toxic they essentially stripped the Earth of its ozone layer.

This led life on our planet to be exposed to deadly solar radiation which would have massively increased the risk of cancer and caused plant life to die off – leading to the death of animals through lack of food and poor breathing conditions. Earth’s most devastating extinction was triggered by Siberian volcanic eruptions 250 million years ago. The event wiped out more than 95 percent of marine life and 70 percent of land animals.