Dinosaurs went extinct suddenly overnight due to asteroid impact

While the Chicxulub impact was catastrophic, extinction unfolded over months to years rather than instantaneously. Impact models suggest widespread wildfires, impact winter from dust/aerosols, and ecosystem disruption over extended periods. Fossil records show a gradual decline in diversity rather than sudden halt. Some dinosaurs may have persisted weeks or months in protected refugia before starvation and environmental collapse forced extinction. The K-Pg boundary shows compressed timescales (geologically speaking) but represents extended catastrophe, not instantaneous annihilation.