Part 5/10:

Our planet has endured intense global glaciation periods—epochs in which the entire surface froze over, far surpassing the localized ice ages we know today. This theory, named the "Snowball Earth" hypothesis, suggests that extreme climatic shifts enveloped even the equatorial regions in ice.

Geological evidence shows that tillite—sediment formed from glacial ice—was discovered across the globe in regions that would have once enjoyed tropical climates. Investigations revealed at least three significant glaciation events during Earth's history, the most notable occurring approximately 2.4 to 2.1 billion years ago.