66 million years ago, an asteroid
as big as Mount Everest
was headed on
a deadly collision
course with Earth.
The impact was so devastating
that it wiped out
the most gigantic,
deadliest reptiles
to ever roam our planet.
But the dinosaurs didn't
just die from one big boom.
No.
They faced a slow, agonizing end.
How did this extinction event
caused the largest
tsunami Earth has ever seen?
And what exactly happened
after the big reptiles were gone?
Hold on tight.
We're taking you on the most epic
and deadly trip of your life.
This dinosaur-ending
asteroid is terrifying.
Not only was it about
10 km (6 mi) in diameter,
but it also traveled
incredibly fast,
between 10 and 30 km/s (6-18 mi/s).
At this point, it was a blazing fireball.
As it hurtled down to Earth,
the air in front of it
was compressing and heating up
to unimaginably hot temperatures.
Just before the impact,
the asteroid could have been
as hot as the surface of the Sun.
Once it entered our atmosphere,
it only took this
massive space rock a few seconds
to reach Earth's surface and alter
the course of life forever.
As the asteroid slammed into Earth
off the coast of where
Mexico is now,
it sent huge amounts
of debris up into the air.
The shocking blast wave
killed everything in its way.
And from here,
it was only getting worse.
Yeah, 66 million years ago,
Earth was going through some rough times.
Now, right now,
our planet's not facing a giant asteroid,
but we are facing increasingly
severe environmental crises.
If you think it's time to fix our planet,
well, stick around
for a fantastic video recommendation
from our friends at Planet Wild.
You don't want to miss it.
This powerful blast ejected
bits of the Earth's surface
into the atmosphere,
and minutes later,
scorching hot
pieces of glass and rock
rained back down.
Some of the debris reacted
with the atmosphere,
causing acid rain
that would last for years.
The land was burning.
The fires caused by this
devastating impact
spread across the continent
like literal wildfire,
killing more
and more life along the way.
And then, just when you thought
the apocalyptic scenario couldn't
get any more intense,
well, it did.
The impact of the asteroid hitting
Earth was so powerful
that it sent shockwaves
through the planet.
And all that energy had to go
somewhere.
Cue the mega-tsunami.
A wall of water over 10 m (33 ft) high
raced across the ocean.
This wasn't your regular tsunami.
It was a staggering 30,000 times
more powerful
than anything you see today.
As this monstrous wave
spread across the North Atlantic
and South Pacific,
coastlines didn’t stand a chance.
The wave hit with such force
that it destroyed
and reshaped the continent.
If you were there to witness
this apocalyptic destruction, well,
you wouldn't survive any of it.
But some dinosaurs did.
Yeah, the ones
further away from Ground Zero
weren't immediately
obliterated by the impact.
They weren't incinerated
by the resulting infernos.
And they managed
to avoid being swept away
by the mega-tsunami.
But still, their fate was sealed.
As the dust began to settle,
it was the start
of a nuclear winter.
Even though it wasn't
nuclear weapons that caused it,
the effect was the same.
The massive amount of debris
in the air blocked
the sunlight for months,
maybe even years.
Earth suddenly became a cold, dark place.
And the dinos weren't ready for it.
As temperatures
plummeted and fires
released enormous amounts
of greenhouse gases,
the climate changed dramatically.
Plants weren't able
to perform photosynthesis,
and most of them
started to die out.
This disrupted the food chain
and starved many of the animals
that survived the impact.
And remember the acid rain?
It lasted for several years,
causing more devastation
to the ecosystems.
The oceans became too acidic
for marine life.
Most ocean species
didn't have the time to adapt
to such a drastic change.
These prolonged harsh conditions
together with the initial blast,
pushed about 75% of Earth's life
to extinction.
The good news is,
is that this included
the horrifying T.rex.
Yeah, as much as I feel bad for this guy,
I'm happy he's
not running around today.
When the last of the dinosaurs
breathed their last breath,
Earth became an empty, devasted place.
Cold and acidic.
So when did things get back
to normal?
Yeah, well, here's the thing.
They didn't.
Not dinosaur-era normal, anyway.
Earth didn't rebuild after that.
It reinvented itself.
One thousand years later, the planet
was recovering
from the post-apocalyptic winter.
It was still cold
and food was still scarce.
But life was ready
to make a comeback.
In this new wild world,
a few furry little critters
were sprinting around.
Among the first plants to reappear
after the impact were ferns.
They really hit it off
well after the disaster.
100,000 years later,
Earth began
to get it a little more lively.
Creatures about
the size of raccoons
were repopulating the continents.
And the oceans were once again
teeming with life.
Fast forward about 10 million years,
and Earth
had finally restored
its biodiversity.
Only it wasn't the same Earth
as it used to be.
Now it was the age of mammals.
Yeah,
after the dinosaurs checked out,
mammals were on fire.
Not literally of course.
Mammals, together with birds
and flowering plants,
were rocking the planet.
Yeah, Earth never got back
to its old self.
After the last dinosaur died,
it took our planet
millions of years
to bounce back in a new way.
But don't get me wrong,
this world was still
pretty terrifying.
It had beasts like Paraceratherium
roaming the land
and Megalodons reigning terror
in the oceans.
Yeah, it's really for the best
that most of these creatures
aren't around these days.
You wouldn't want to face a Meg
when you're out there
swimming in the ocean.
Even without bloodthirsty
Megs sneaking around the oceans,
today's Earth
and its natural environments
face a lot of problems.
But it's not game over for our planet
just yet.
Check out this new YouTube
channel, Planet Wild.
These guys are like real-life Avengers,
going out there to protect our planet.
Only instead of
fighting otherworldly threats,
they stay on this planet
and get their hands dirty,
rewilding it and fixing the damage
we've done to our home.
Every month,
they release a video.
In these ones here,
they clean up the ocean
from deep sea waste or transform
a dying forest
into a beautiful, strong ecosystem.
It's an absolutely inspiring journey,
one that'll make you feel like
you want to change the world.
Big shout out to Planet Wild
for doing amazing work
and for encouraging
all of us to do better.
Don't wait, check them out.
Let's save the planet
and not go extinct like the dinosaurs.