Late Palæozoic glacigene deposits forming the base of the Gondwana megasequence are present along the entire length of the Tethyan margin of Gondwana. The lithology of the deposits in these sequences was controlled largely by the prevailing climate and this influence was imposed also upon early diagenesis. The change from the cold, glacial climate to the cool temperate, postglacial environment is reflected by a change from a mineralogically immature composition (arkosic chloritic) of the glacial periglacial sediments, to a mature, kaolinite pyrite quartz dominated lithofacies of the deglaciation deposits. A typical feature of the latter period is the appearance of black, kaolinitic lutites, usually with a high organic C content. From the many occurrences, only a few examples of typical deglaciation sequences are discussed in this paper, including Tanzania, southern Oman, the Lesser Himalaya, northwestern Australia and southwest China. Microflora and fauna demonstrate that all these deglaciation sequences are of Late Asselian to Early Sakmarian age, indicating that deglaciation along the Tethyan margin of Gondwana was, within the limit of the dating methods, a synchronuous event. A peak in sea level in the Late Sakmarian/Early Artinskian, experienced in all but one of the sections described, supports this statement. The high content of organic matter in the deglaciation deposits was caused by the sudden increase of bioproduction stimulated by higher temperatures and a high CO 2 concentration in the atmosphere. A high input of organic material, combined with glacially overdeepened basin geometries, were responsible for the dominance of euxinic conditions during that period. The swift and synchronuous climatic amelioration cannot be explained by shifting pole positions, but only by rapid and substantial global warming.