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A look at how the giant supercontinent Rodinia broke up 800 million years ago. Earth’s tectonic forces ripped the land apart, kicking off a series of events that sent temperatures plummeting.
How Earth’s terrifying journey into the deep freeze started with fire, not ice. Eight hundred million years ago, long before the age of the dinosaurs, indeed any animal life, the giant supercontinent Rodinia broke up. Earth’s vast powerful tectonic forces ripped the land apart, kicking off a series of events that resulted in huge amounts of carbon dioxide being sucked from the atmosphere and sending global temperatures plummeting.
On TV
Sat 10 Jan 2026
17:45
BBC Two except Wales & Wales HD
Clip
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The Freezing of Earth
Duration: 03:10
Credits
| Role | Contributor |
|---|---|
| Presenter | Chris Packham |
| Director | Ben Wilson |
| Producer | Catherine Gale |
| Line Producer | Raewyn Dickson |
| Composer | Paul Saunderson |
| Executive Producer | Andrew Cohen |
| Executive Producer | Rob Liddell |
An Interview with Planet Earth
If the Earth could talk, what would it tell us?