New research reveals that mega ocean warming El Niño events played a pivotal role in the largest extinction event on Earth, which occurred around 252 million years ago. The findings, published in Science by a team co-led by the University of Bristol and China University of Geosciences (Wuhan), highlight how rapid climate changes contributed to the mass extinction during the Permian-Triassic period. Scientists have long associated this catastrophic event with massive volcanic eruptions in what is now Siberia. These eruptions released enormous amounts of carbon dioxide, accelerating climate warm…