A recent US research team proposes a new explanation for the worldwide extinction event 66 million years ago caused by an asteroid impact in Yucatán. While the impact itself caused immense local devastation, it doesn’t fully explain the global scale of the extinctions, including that of the dinosaurs. The team suggests the impact ejected massive amounts of dust high into the atmosphere, forming a global dust veil. This dust blocked sunlight, leading to a prolonged period of darkness and a drastic drop in temperatures worldwide. This global cooling and disruption of photosynthesis ultimately contributed to the mass die-off of species across the planet. The study offers a crucial understanding of the far-reaching consequences of large-scale impact events on Earth's climate and biodiversity.