Around 252 million years ago, volcanoes across what is now Siberia erupted repeatedly for more than a million years, releasing perhaps 100,000 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide and helping wipe out roughly 90 per cent of marine species in the deadliest mas

Scientists have identified metabolic vulnerability as the primary driver of the **Permian-Triassic extinction event**, the deadliest mass extinction in Earth’s history. Around **252 million years ago**, Siberian volcanic eruptions released **100,000 billion tonnes of CO₂** over more than a million years, triggering ocean acidification and warming that wiped out **90% of marine species**. The findings suggest a mechanism similar to current ocean stress from climate change, though coverage notes the ancient event’s scale was unprecedented.

Coverage emphasizes the role of **metabolic collapse** in marine life, with studies from **Stanford, ScienceDaily, and Open Access Government** highlighting how elevated CO₂ disrupted oxygen processing in organisms. **The Economic Times** draws parallels to today’s ocean deoxygenation, though no direct causal link to modern extinctions is established. Major outlets cite geological evidence—including isotopic records and sediment cores—as confirming the volcanic-CO₂-extinction sequence. Researchers warn the study underscores **threshold effects in Earth systems**, particularly how rapid CO₂ release can destabilize ecosystems.

Watch for follow-up on whether **modern ocean acidification** shares comparable biological vulnerabilities, though no immediate policy shifts are signaled. Next steps may focus on refining climate models to test ancient extinction triggers against future projections.