Indus Valley, Vedic civilisations' demise due to major droughts holds lessons for present-day India
7 years, 2 months ago

Indus Valley, Vedic civilisations' demise due to major droughts holds lessons for present-day India

Firstpost  

Gayatri Kathayat and Ashish Sinha speak about why it is important to study the variability of the Indian summer monsoon over the last few thousand years. “If ancient societies could not cope with the variations we noted in the Indian summer monsoon, which were far more severe than anything we have seen in the recorded rainfall records of the twentieth century, what makes us believe that modern civilisation will be able to cope with the next potentially prolonged downturn of the Indian summer monsoon without adequately planning for it–especially in the face of other climatic challenges such as global warming, rising ocean temperatures and so on?” Ashish Sinha, 50, professor of earth sciences at the California State University in the US, told IndiaSpend over a phone conversation from China where the study was conducted. This is what makes us confident of the Indian summer monsoon precipitation record of the last 5,700 years based on the speleothems of the Sahiya Cave. Your data set representing the variability of the Indian summer monsoon over the last 5,700 years shows a positive correlation with the expansion and disintegration of successive human civilisations in the Indian subcontinent. A similar story played out starting 3,400 years BP, when a strong Indian summer monsoon encouraged the influx of Indo-Aryans into the north Indus valley, marking the beginning of the Vedic civilisation.

India Climate Change Summer China Indian Monsoon Uttarakhand Cave Study Valley Vedic Indus Indus Valley Variability Civilisation Indiaspend Calcite Deposits Sahiya  sahiya  lessons  india  major  indus  summer  valley  variability  droughts  indian  holds  monsoon  demise  study  civilisation  presentday  cave  vedic

History of this topic

Monsoon covers entire India six days ahead of schedule: IMD
8 months, 2 weeks ago

Monsoon covers entire India six days ahead of schedule: IMD

The Hindu  

The southwest monsoon has covered the entire country six days ahead of the normal date, the India Meteorological Department said on July 2. Thus, it covered the entire country on 2nd July 2024, against the normal date of July 8," the IMD said in a statement. The country recorded 16 days of below-normal rainfall activity — from June 11 to …

Weird Science | A research paper aims to show the connection between monsoon and invasions on the Indian Subcontinent…
11 months ago

Weird Science | A research paper aims to show the connection between monsoon and invasions on the Indian Subcontinent…

Hindustan Times  

To think that the monsoon played a role in the course of history might seem strange, but isn’t a leap of the imagination. The team, led by Dr Naveen Gandhi, scientist, IITM, assessed paleoclimate records spanning 2,500 years, to map out a timeline of climatic conditions that corresponded with periods of significant invasions across South and Central Asia. “For instance, …

India Likely to Experience Above-normal Rainfall this Monsoon: IMD
11 months, 1 week ago

India Likely to Experience Above-normal Rainfall this Monsoon: IMD

Deccan Chronicle  

New Delhi: India is likely to experience above-normal cumulative rainfall in the 2024 monsoon season with La Nina conditions likely to set in by August-September, the IMD has said on Monday.However, normal cumulative rainfall does not guarantee uniform temporal and spatial distribution of rain across the country, with climate change further increasing the variability of the rain-bearing system. Based on …

India likely to get normal monsoon after summer heat wave: Skymet
11 months, 1 week ago

India likely to get normal monsoon after summer heat wave: Skymet

The Hindu  

India is expected to see a normal monsoon in 2024, private weather forecasting agency Skymet said on Tuesday, promising some respite after a prediction of more-than-normal heat wave days in the summer preceding the June-September rainy season. Monsoon rains are expected to be 102% of the long-period average of 868.6 mm for the four-month period, Skymet said. The Indian Meteorological …

Rainfall rising in over half of India’s sub-districts, says four-decade study
1 year, 2 months ago

Rainfall rising in over half of India’s sub-districts, says four-decade study

The Hindu  

January 17, 2024 10:39 pm | Updated January 18, 2024 01:51 pm IST - NEW DELHI Rainfall is increasing in more than half of India’s 4,400-odd tehsils or sub-districts, according to a granular analysis of changes in the Indian monsoon, conducted for the first time at the tehsil level. “In our study of localised wet rainfall extremes, we found that …

Capturing the monsoon: its variance and the message
1 year, 5 months ago

Capturing the monsoon: its variance and the message

The Hindu  

For the first time since 2018, India has reported a deficit monsoon. From June to September this year, India received 82 cm of rainfall, nearly 6% lower than the 89 cm that is considered ‘normal’. Between 2019 and 2022, the Indian monsoon was significantly impacted by the converse phenomenon – a cooling La Niña — that sometimes is associated with …

Watch | How climate change is affecting monsoon forecast and disaster management
1 year, 6 months ago

Watch | How climate change is affecting monsoon forecast and disaster management

The Hindu  

From delayed onsets marked by intense dry spells, to devastating flash floods and destructive landslides, the monsoon in recent years has been a period of uncertainty and destruction for India. Although there are various factors behind it, there is a general consensus among scientists that climate change plays a major role. The Southwest monsoon that brings rain to the subcontinent …

Watch | Why has the monsoon in North India been so destructive?
1 year, 8 months ago

Watch | Why has the monsoon in North India been so destructive?

The Hindu  

Watch | Why has the monsoon in North India been so destructive? The monsoon started later than usual due to unexpected interactions with cyclones and other weather systems lingering from earlier in the year. Cyclone Biparjoy formed after the monsoon should have started, delaying the moon onset in Mumbai by two weeks. Before the monsoon started, the India Meteorological Department …

Record rainfall: Chandigarh, Kullu see wettest days in history - The Hindu
1 year, 8 months ago

Record rainfall: Chandigarh, Kullu see wettest days in history - The Hindu

The Hindu  

Over the last few days, torrential rainfall has wreaked havoc in north India, particularly in parts of Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, Delhi, and Chandigarh. Chart 2 | The chart shows the cumulative deviation from the usual rainfall recorded, on all days of July 2023, across meteorological subdivisions. The increase from normal rainfall in Uttarakhand and Haryana surpassed even Himachal Pradesh’s …

Monsoon rains swing from 10% deficit to surplus in 8 days
1 year, 8 months ago

Monsoon rains swing from 10% deficit to surplus in 8 days

The Hindu  

The bountiful rains in many parts of India in the first eight days of July have bridged the rainfall deficit for the entire country, according to the India Meteorological Department's data. While the eastern and northeastern region has recorded a deficiency of 17%, north India has witnessed 59% excess rainfall, the latest IMD data showed. Central India, where a large …

Monsoon finally reaches Kerala after 7-day delay, but onset weak
1 year, 9 months ago

Monsoon finally reaches Kerala after 7-day delay, but onset weak

Hindustan Times  

The monsoon arrived over Kerala on Thursday, seven days after it normally arrives in the state on June 1, the India Meteorological Department announced even as climate scientists and meteorologists warned that the onset of the weather system is likely to remain weak, and its progress over the peninsula, slow, on account of severe Cyclone Biparjoy. Read here: Monsoon arrives …

Understanding monsoon onset date
1 year, 9 months ago

Understanding monsoon onset date

Hindustan Times  

The normal date for monsoon onset over Kerala is June 1, determined by IMD based on monsoon onset data during 1961-2019. Overall, the most delayed monsoon onset was on June 19, 1972, and the earliest on May 18 in 1990, IMD officials said. In view formation and intensification of this system and its near north-ward movement likely to influence critically, …

16 of 22 El Nino years in India resulted in drought-like situation
1 year, 9 months ago

16 of 22 El Nino years in India resulted in drought-like situation

Hindustan Times  

The India Meteorological Department data covering the past 122 years shows India has experienced 22 El Nino year occurrences since 1901, and 16 of these resulted in drought-like conditions because of below normal monsoon rainfall. This year, the forecast by scientists of India facing the effects of El Nino in its monsoon cycle may impact the agricultural sector. Unpredictable effect …

Monsoons in India become unpredictable as pollution wreaks havoc
1 year, 9 months ago

Monsoons in India become unpredictable as pollution wreaks havoc

The Hindu  

In a small laboratory on the outskirts of the Indian city of Hyderabad, professor Kirti Sahu is studying raindrops. Using a machine that simulates the conditions of clouds, he is among a number of scientists aiming to understand how climate change and pollution are changing the monsoon rains that underpin the country's agrarian economy. In recent years, India has seen …

El Nino casts a shadow over Indian agriculture
1 year, 10 months ago

El Nino casts a shadow over Indian agriculture

Live Mint  

In April, the India Meteorological Department forecast a normal monsoon for 2023, with rains estimated at 96% of the long-term average. “Therefore, it is very clear that not all El Niño years converted into droughts for India and not all Indian droughts happened in El Niño years," the authors concluded. During the last El Niño episode between 2014 and 2016, …

Summer resolution: On the IMD’s heat wave forecasts
1 year, 11 months ago

Summer resolution: On the IMD’s heat wave forecasts

The Hindu  

It is not exactly surprising when the India Meteorological Department says that the summer months will be searingly hot. Last week, it proclaimed that most parts of the country are expected to experience above normal maximum temperatures during the “hot weather season”, barring parts of peninsular and northwest India, which would see normal or even below normal ‘maximum’ temperatures. ‘Above …

El Nino Conditions Predicted in July Now, How Will It Impact India's Monsoon Season?
2 years, 1 month ago

El Nino Conditions Predicted in July Now, How Will It Impact India's Monsoon Season?

News 18  

The possibility of El Nino conditions developing this year was predicted for the second month in a row by US government weather agency National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration on Thursday, and could be earlier than forecast last month. The forecast, released late on Thursday night, indicates that the El Nino conditions may set in around July, earlier than what January …

North Bay of Bengal received more rain than any part of India in last 10,000 years
2 years, 2 months ago

North Bay of Bengal received more rain than any part of India in last 10,000 years

India Today  

A new study has revealed that areas surrounding the northern Bay of Bengal received more rainfall than any other part of the country in the last 10,200 years. The study traced the dynamics of the Indian Summer Monsoon Rainfall over the last 10,000 years. The study is aimed to better understand the long-term trends of climate change impacts on the …

Track monsoon changes better
2 years, 5 months ago

Track monsoon changes better

Hindustan Times  

The southwest monsoon started withdrawing from the country last week, and by official accounts, it has been normal, with 7% more rain than usual. Moreover, only in half of the days was the rainfall within the 20% limit of the 1961-2010 long period average — indicating that rainfall was concentrated in short bursts, followed by periods of no showers. The …

Indian subcontinent is prone to catastrophic prolonged droughts, claims study
2 years, 6 months ago

Indian subcontinent is prone to catastrophic prolonged droughts, claims study

The Independent  

Sign up to the Independent Climate email for the latest advice on saving the planet Get our free Climate email Get our free Climate email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy A new study that recreated hundreds of years of historical monsoon summer data finds the …

1,000-Year-Old Stalagmites Show Monsoon Is Unreliable: A History of Drought
2 years, 6 months ago

1,000-Year-Old Stalagmites Show Monsoon Is Unreliable: A History of Drought

The Quint  

1, 000-year -old stalagmites from a cave in India show the monsoon isn’t so reliable – their rings reveal a history of long, deadly droughts Stalagmites grow from the cave floor up as water drips down. It documents how the Indian subcontinent frequently experienced long, severe droughts unlike any observed in the last 150 years of reliable monsoon rainfall measurements. …

How climate change is altering Indian monsoon
2 years, 6 months ago

How climate change is altering Indian monsoon

The Hindu  

Monsoon in India has undergone several changes over the years, especially on account of climate change. Back-to-back active monsoon systems in the Bay of Bengal in July led to excess rainfall to the tune of 8% — actual rainfall recorded was 472.8 mm as against the normal of 437.2 mm 6. Back-to-back active monsoon systems in the Bay of Bengal …

Flood Fury in Pakistan: Why the South Asian monsoon is important and yet so dangerous
2 years, 6 months ago

Flood Fury in Pakistan: Why the South Asian monsoon is important and yet so dangerous

Firstpost  

The monsoon is vital for agriculture and therefore for the livelihoods of millions of farmers and for food security. Unregulated construction in flood-prone areas exacerbates the damage New Delhi: Floods in Pakistan have killed more than 1,000 people after what its climate change minister called a record unbroken cycle of monsoon rains with “eight weeks of non-stop torrents”. The Southwest …

India needs climate-resilient farming
2 years, 7 months ago

India needs climate-resilient farming

Hindustan Times  

After a gruelling March-May season, marked by back-to-back heatwave days in parts of India, the country confronts another challenge: An uneven spread of the southwest monsoon. In July, there was 16.9% excess rain over the country, with 10.8% excess over northwest India; 42.7% excess over central India; 60.4% excess over peninsular India, according to the India Meteorological Department. For farmers, …

Monsoon jitters: The Hindu Editorial on rain deficit and droughts
2 years, 9 months ago

Monsoon jitters: The Hindu Editorial on rain deficit and droughts

The Hindu  

The monsoon landed early in Kerala, three days ahead of the normal date of June 1. The monsoon rainfall is critical to kharif sowing and so a faltering June has raised concerns in several quarters. June rainfall, particularly in the first fortnight, is historically patchy and contributes less than 18% of the monsoon rainfall. The June to September rainfall over …

Climate Change: Prolonged heat, no monsoon relief in sight
2 years, 9 months ago

Climate Change: Prolonged heat, no monsoon relief in sight

Live Mint  

What a difference a few days can make. As a study from the international group of climate scientists, World Weather Attribution, pointed out on 23 May, climate change has made such heatwaves 30 times more likely. What the WWA study, Climate Change Made Devastating Early Heat In India And Pakistan 30 Times More Likely, points out is that below average …

How climate change is changing the Indian monsoon
3 years, 7 months ago

How climate change is changing the Indian monsoon

Live Mint  

When we talk about climate change impacts, the word that’s often used is “unprecedented”, that which can’t be measured by any given yardstick. The country’s first ever official climate change report, the Assessment Of Climate Change Over The Indian Region, prepared by the Indian scientific community and published by the ministry of earth sciences in 2020, lays out the state …

After hitting a dry spell, monsoon revives again
3 years, 8 months ago

After hitting a dry spell, monsoon revives again

Hindustan Times  

Forty-five days into the official monsoon season, what is the status of rains this year? Up to June 20, there were only two days in the current monsoon season when the daily rainfall was less than the Long Period Average. An analysis of cumulative rainfall by districts shows that as of 8:30 am, July 15, 229 of the 614 census …

Onset of Southwest Monsoon: Country to witness rainfall from July 8, says official
3 years, 8 months ago

Onset of Southwest Monsoon: Country to witness rainfall from July 8, says official

India Today  

After a break of almost three weeks, the Southwest Monsoon is expected to revive from July 8, M Rajeevan, Secretary of the Ministry of Earth Sciences said on Sunday. Rajeevan, who has been researching the Southwest Monsoon for more than three decades, noted that forecast models show signs of revival, increasing rains in the South, West Coast and East Central …

Global warming is changing the Indian monsoon
3 years, 9 months ago

Global warming is changing the Indian monsoon

Live Mint  

As of 17 June, the monsoon has been making its stately progress across the Indian subcontinent, and has covered nearly two-thirds of the country. The study, Remote And Local Drivers Of Pleistocene South Asian Summer Monsoon Precipitation: A Test For Future Predictions, looks to South Asia’s past to assess its hydroclimatic future. Prepared by a team of scientists led by …

India’s monsoon rains 5% heavier for every 1C of global warming
3 years, 11 months ago

India’s monsoon rains 5% heavier for every 1C of global warming

The Independent  

Sign up to the Independent Climate email for the latest advice on saving the planet Get our free Climate email Get our free Climate email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Summer monsoon rainfall in India could increase by five per cent for every 1C increase …

Ministry of science and technology cites study saying disturbance from north atlantic could derail Indian monsoon
4 years, 3 months ago

Ministry of science and technology cites study saying disturbance from north atlantic could derail Indian monsoon

Hindustan Times  

A planetary wave from the North Atlantic is capable of derailing the Indian monsoon on which the Indian economy is heavily dependent, suggests a study published in the journal Science, said Ministry of Science and Technology on Thursday. During non-El Nino droughts there is a moderate decrease in June rainfall, followed by signs of recovery during mid-July to mid-August - …

Droughts in India were caused by atmospheric disturbances in the North Atlantic ocean
4 years, 3 months ago

Droughts in India were caused by atmospheric disturbances in the North Atlantic ocean

Firstpost  

The IISc study said that these droughts were a consequence of a sudden and steep drop in rainfall in late August. Nearly half of the droughts that occurred during the Indian summer monsoon season in the past century may have been driven by atmospheric disturbances from the North Atlantic region, finds a new study. This drop was linked to an …

Science of monsoons: The Hindu Editorial on need for better weather forecast
4 years, 4 months ago

Science of monsoons: The Hindu Editorial on need for better weather forecast

The Hindu  

The southwest monsoon 2020 has officially drawn to an end with the India Meteorological Department declaring a withdrawal of the associated winds and rainfall pattern from India on Wednesday. The southwest monsoon’s withdrawal also heralds the advent of north-easterly winds that bring in the northeast monsoon to parts of peninsular Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu. While significant to the agriculture …

Global climate events over last 3,200 years may have caused variations in Indian Summer Monsoon: Study
4 years, 5 months ago

Global climate events over last 3,200 years may have caused variations in Indian Summer Monsoon: Study

Hindustan Times  

Global climatic events like the Roman Warm Period, Medieval Climate Anomaly, and the Little Ice Age may have had significant impacts on India’s landscape, vegetation, and socio-economic growth, with abrupt shifts in the Indian Summer Monsoon coinciding with these climatic events, a study by Indian researchers has found. In a recent study published in the journal ‘Quaternary International’, researchers obtained …

Global Climate Events Over Last 3,200 Years May Have Caused Variations in Indian Summer Monsoon
4 years, 5 months ago

Global Climate Events Over Last 3,200 Years May Have Caused Variations in Indian Summer Monsoon

News 18  

Global climatic events like the Roman Warm Period, Medieval Climate Anomaly, and the Little Ice Age may have had significant impacts on India’s landscape, vegetation, and socio-economic growth, with abrupt shifts in the Indian Summer Monsoon coinciding with these climatic events, a study by Indian researchers has found. In a recent study published in the journal ‘Quaternary International’, researchers obtained …

Indus Valley Civilisation May Have Ended Due to Impact of Climate Change on Monsoon Patterns
4 years, 6 months ago

Indus Valley Civilisation May Have Ended Due to Impact of Climate Change on Monsoon Patterns

News 18  

Shifting monsoon patterns linked to climate change likely caused the rise and fall of the ancient Indus Valley Civilisation, according to a study by an Indian-origin scientist which analysed data from North India covering the past 5,700 years. The analysis by Nishant Malik from Rochester Institute of Technology in the US used a new mathematical method to study ancient climate …

A season of change: The Hindu Editorial on the India Meteorological Department’s forecast system
4 years, 11 months ago

A season of change: The Hindu Editorial on the India Meteorological Department’s forecast system

The Hindu  

In the season of the abnormal, the IMD has announced that the monsoon this year would likely be normal. The IMD’s April forecast, experience suggests, is not much to go by especially if the agency declares it ‘normal’ as rarely, if ever, do weather models catch signs of an impending shortfall or a large excess in April. In April last …

India’s Longest Drought: 41-month-long Dry Spell From 2015-18 Was Longest in 150 years, Finds Study
5 years, 4 months ago

India’s Longest Drought: 41-month-long Dry Spell From 2015-18 Was Longest in 150 years, Finds Study

News 18  

As the dispute over their ancestral property was growing more acrimonious by the day, 40-year-old farmer Murat Singh Yadav and his brother Charan Singh decided a partition was the only way to tamp down the discord. And, although not the deadliest, it had a “remarkable impact on reservoir and groundwater storage” suggesting that such long-term droughts could impact “water security …

Why are monsoons difficult to predict?
5 years, 8 months ago

Why are monsoons difficult to predict?

The Hindu  

The story so far: The southwest monsoon made a late entry into Kerala on June 7, after a delay of nearly a week. The monsoon branch that enters eastern India, around the same time as the southern branch, is relatively better performing thanks to convective currents formed in the Bay of Bengal. These essentially involved identifying climate parameters linked to …

Monsoon should be robust provided no El Nino surprise: Met Official
5 years, 11 months ago

Monsoon should be robust provided no El Nino surprise: Met Official

Live Mint  

India's monsoon, crucial for Asia's third largest economy, is likely to be a robust and healthy one this year provided there isn't a surprise El Nino phenomenon, Indian's top government weather official said on Wednesday. Monsoon rains, the lifeblood for India's farm-dependent $2.6 trillion economy, arrive on the southern tip of Kerala state around June 1 and retreat from the …

India’s Monsoon falls short of forecasts for a second year
6 years, 5 months ago

India’s Monsoon falls short of forecasts for a second year

Live Mint  

New Delhi: India’s monsoon, which accounts for more than 70% of annual precipitation, missed a forecast for normal rainfall for a second year. This year’s monsoon brought normal or excess showers to 69% of the country, with the rest receiving insufficient rainfall. “Water levels in reservoirs are better than last year and that’s a boon for the winter crops.” India’s …

Scientists develop new model to determine monsoon variations across India
6 years, 10 months ago

Scientists develop new model to determine monsoon variations across India

Live Mint  

Delhi:Scientists have developed a new model for estimating variability and trends in rainfall over different climate regions of the country, which is set to help in improving the existing weather forecasting for both the southwest and northeast monsoons. The new statistical model based on multiple linear regression has been developed by scientists from the Centre for Oceans, Rivers, Atmosphere and …

Arctic weather conditions could impact this year's monsoon, adversely affect Indian farmers
6 years, 10 months ago

Arctic weather conditions could impact this year's monsoon, adversely affect Indian farmers

Firstpost  

Unfolding weather conditions at the Arctic Circle have the potential to help forecast and possibly impact this year’s monsoon and Indian farmers. By Charu Bahri Mount Abu: While the Indian Meteorological Department has predicted 97 percent of normal monsoon rains this year, meteorologists at the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology in Pune are keeping a close eye on unfolding weather …

New tool to improve Indian monsoon forecast
7 years, 4 months ago

New tool to improve Indian monsoon forecast

Live Mint  

Washington: Scientists have developed a new tool for objectively defining the onset and demise of the Indian summer monsoon—a colossal weather system that affects millions of people annually. The researchers from Florida State University in the US developed a method that uses rainfall rates to mark the span of the Indian summer monsoon at any given location throughout the affected …

Scientists develop model to predict Indian monsoon in advance
8 years, 11 months ago

Scientists develop model to predict Indian monsoon in advance

Firstpost  

A team of Swiss scientists has developed a novel prediction approach that can forecast Indian monsoon’s yearly onset and withdrawal significantly earlier than from previously available methods. “We can predict the beginning of the Indian monsoon two weeks earlier and the end of it even six weeks earlier than before - which is quite a breakthrough given that for the …

Southwest monsoon ends 14 percent lower than normal in India
9 years, 5 months ago

Southwest monsoon ends 14 percent lower than normal in India

Firstpost  

Rainfall in the country was 14 percent lower than normal during the Southwest monsoon that officially ended on Wednesday. New Delhi: Rainfall in the country was 14 percent lower than normal during the Southwest monsoon that officially ended on Wednesday with a double-digit rain deficit being recorded for the second consecutive year causing drought in some states. This year’s summer …

Weak monsoon led to Indus Valley civilisation collapse: study
11 years ago

Weak monsoon led to Indus Valley civilisation collapse: study

India TV News  

London: An abrupt weakening of the summer monsoon in north-west India may have led to the collapse of the mighty Indus Valley civilisation over 4,000 years ago, according to a new study. A research team from the University of Cambridge has been studying the impact of climate change on the ancient civilisation and found that the resulting drought from a …

Discover Related