Climate change swallowed the Indus Valley civilization, the world should be alert with the new research report

New Delhi/Pune: The world is talking about the potential dangers of climate change, but is not taking enough steps to deal with it. While a new research report says that climate change destroyed a great civilization like the Indus Valley. This important information has come to light in another research on the collapse of the Indus Valley civilization. Researchers at the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM) have found that the collapse of the Indus Valley civilization more than 4,000 years ago was due to fluctuations in the climate. Monsoon is affected even today due to climatic factors. This research report published in Quaternary International presents evidence from ancient cave structures (speleothems) found in the Gupteswar and Kadapa caves of South India. Evidence from these caves suggests that a series of prolonged droughts weakened the monsoon system in the Indus Valley civilization, due to which drought conditions persisted.

7 thousand years of climate record

The research team investigated caves in peninsular India. This revealed a 7,000-year climate record. This provided detailed information about past climate changes in the region. Their findings showed that about 4,200 years ago, low solar radiation, increased El Niño events, southward migration of the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ), and a negative phase of the Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD) were working together to weaken the monsoon pattern.
The weakening of the monsoon probably led to the collapse of the Indus Valley Civilisation, which included major urban centres such as Harappa and Mohenjo-daro as well as settlements such as Dholavira, Lothal, and Rakhigarhi.

“Interestingly, the climate patterns that we see influencing monsoons today were also present thousands of years ago, shaping the fate of entire civilisations. Often referred to as the ‘rain belt’, the ITCZ ​​plays a key role in regulating rainfall across the Indian subcontinent,” said lead researcher Naveen Gandhi from IITM.

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Due to this, there was no heavy rain in the Indus region

Around 4,200 years ago, the ITCZ ​​shifted southwards, making it impossible for the Indus region to receive adequate rainfall. Also, a negative effect of the IOD, a climate pattern that affects sea surface temperatures in the Indian Ocean, cooled the eastern Indian Ocean, further reducing moisture transport to the subcontinent. This period also saw a decrease in solar radiation and an increase in El Niño events, which worsened the droughts that plagued the Indus Valley for long periods.

The study sheds light on how ancient climate systems significantly influenced human settlements and civilisation. This research not only deepens our understanding of the environmental challenges faced by the Indus Valley, but also emphasises the lasting impact of climate variability on human society.