Soot and sulphur cause ice age
Earth is showered with 40 billion tonnes of sulphuric acid. The first days following the impact are catastrophic for Earth's animals, but it gets even worse. Soot and sulphur black out the sky, causing an extreme ice age.
DAYS
Acid rain destroys oceans
The impact sends large quantities of sulphur gas into the atmosphere, where it reacts with water vapour to form sulphuric acid. Over the next three days, 40+ billion tonnes of acid falls on the planet, killing marine animals.
MONTHS
Black cloud puts out light
Soot and sulphur block out the sunlight, and the quantity of solar energy that hits Earth is reduced by more than 98% for months or years. Plants and algae cannot photosynthesise, and when they die, the rest of the food chain also collapses.
WEEKS
Fires consume forests
Glass balls flung into the air during the impact fall down, heating the air around them. For a short period, the atmosphere is like a 260-degree-hot oven. The heat causes forest fires throughout the world that last for weeks.
YEARS
Darkness lowers temperatures
The average world surface temperature before the impact is about 20 degrees, but the darkness of the planet causes a reduction of 15-30 degrees in the years that follow. Not until three decades later does the world return to its previous temperature range.