Did a mega drought topple empires 4,200 years ago?

Climate Informed Engineering: An Essential Pillar of Industry 4.0 Transformation

“…A well-known example of the latter is the abandonment of thriving cities in Mesopotamia, the area currently made up of Iraq, northeast Syria, and southeast Turkey, around 4200 years ago as a result of a drying climate and a devastating 300 year long drought. 2 Yet, the common perception of "climate" is, surprisingly, often narrowly limited to the impacts of weather conditions on our day-to-day activities.…”

“…They used their climate understanding and knowledge to manage agriculture and food production, develop housing, infrastructure, and transportation systems, fabricate clothing and materials for harsh conditions, expand the growth of commerce, and even migrate for survival. A well-known example of the latter is the abandonment of thriving cities in Mesopotamia, the area currently made up of Iraq, northeast Syria, and southeast Turkey, around 4200 years ago as a result of a drying climate and a devastating 300 year long drought . Yet, the common perception of “climate” is, surprisingly, often narrowly limited to the impacts of weather conditions on our day-to-day activities.…”

Evidence for Seawater Retreat With Advent of Meghalayan Era (∼4200 a BP) in a Coastal Harappan Settlement

“…The last 4200 years of geological history is currently demarcated as the “Meghalayan Age” in the geological time scale (Berkelhammer et al., 2012; Kathayat et al., 2018; Marshal, 2022; Walker et al., 2018; Zanchetta et al., 2016). The beginning of Meghalayan age is marked by the sharp abrupt event captured in the speleothem cave “Krem Mawmluh” near Cherrapunji, northeast India (Berkelhammer et al., 2012; Walker et al., 2018).…”

“…The 4200‐year time period has been defined as a period when Earth's climate recovered from the Mid‐Holocene reorganization of climate forcing factors after the global sea levels stabilized. This epoch is considered to be relatively dry across the geological repositories (Berkelhammer et al., 2012; Dixit et al., 2014, 2018; Kathayat et al., 2018; Marshal, 2022; Staubwasser et al., 2003). The Meghalayan transition (its beginning phases) is reported to arrive with intense aridity that likely may have adversely impacted contemporary cultures in Mesopotamia, Egypt, and the Indus Valley Civilization (Geische et al., 2019; Marshal, 2022; Pokharia et al., 2017; Staubwasser & Weiss., 2006).…”

“…This epoch is considered to be relatively dry across the geological repositories (Berkelhammer et al., 2012; Dixit et al., 2014, 2018; Kathayat et al., 2018; Marshal, 2022; Staubwasser et al., 2003). The Meghalayan transition (its beginning phases) is reported to arrive with intense aridity that likely may have adversely impacted contemporary cultures in Mesopotamia, Egypt, and the Indus Valley Civilization (Geische et al., 2019; Marshal, 2022; Pokharia et al., 2017; Staubwasser & Weiss., 2006). In addition to the monsoonal dryness, what other regional changes occurred with beginning of the Meghalayan era remains to be explored and documented.…”