The Cataclysmic Consequences of the Asteroid Impact

The asteroid impact that ended the Cretaceous period led to the halt of photosynthesis on Earth, starving all life. The impact released 500 billion metric tons of sulfur into the atmosphere, creating sulfur aerosol, which blocked sunlight efficiently, leading to darkness. The sulfur aerosols also caused acid rain, poisoning surface water bodies. This catastrophic event brought life on Earth perilously close to total extinction, known as the Cretaceous-Tertiary extinction by humans millions of years later.