The extinction event took place at a tremendous speed

The catastrophe has wiped out almost all life on Earth more than 250 million years ago, and this event is happening at a faster pace than previously thought.

Based on the analysis of rock layers in China, the extinction process at the end of the Permian took 60,000 years, ± 48,000 years, according to the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

This means that this speed is 10 times faster than the previous prediction of experts.

Extensive volcanic eruptions could be the trigger for the extinction event at the end of the Permian - (Photo: MIT)

'Whatever the cause of widespread extinction, it acted too quickly,' said Seth Burgess, head of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

The extinction has blown 96% of life on the surface of the Earth.

Experts have put forward various theories about the original cause of the event, including the assumption of a series of volcanoes that operate simultaneously, discharging huge amounts of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, activating the acidification process of the oceans and causing global warming at a serious level.

The latest study is based on the analysis of zircon crystals in Mi Son, Sichuan Province, China.

Experts adjusted the estimated data published in 2011, which suggested that the entire extinction process must take place within 200,000 years.

According to the new report, they found that the destruction of plants and animals on Earth could happen as quickly as within 12,000 years, when the oceans temperature increased by 10 degrees Celsius or more.