Huge volcanic eruptions in Alaska and British Columbia, known as the Wrangellian eruptions, released vast amounts of carbon dioxide, warming the planet by 3 to 10 degrees Celsius.
The increased carbon levels accelerated the water cycle, causing a wetter climate known as the Carnian Pluvial Episode (CPE), or the Carnian Humid Episode.
The CPE lasted for about two million years and brought widespread and continuous rainfall to various regions, including England, the Americas, and Israel.
Dinosaurs became more successful during the CPE, accounting for over 90% of terrestrial vertebrate fossils by the episode's end
The increase in rainfall led to a proliferation of giant plants, including conifers and coal-forming plants, providing a new food source for herbivores.
While dinosaurs thrived, many other groups of animals like dicynodonts and rhynchosaurs went extinct due to changes in their food supply.
The CPE came to an end as carbon levels stabilized due to processes like plant absorption, rock erosion, and ocean absorption.
After the CPE, the world returned to a hot, dry Triassic climate, but the impacts of the episode were lasting, leading to the diversification of conifers and the dominance of dinosaurs.
The Carnian Pluvial Episode (CPE), around 234 million years ago, marked a sudden shift from a dry climate to a period of intense rain, lasting for two million years.