It Rivaled Ancient Egypt, Then Vanished: New Study Pinpoints Why the Indus Valley Fell

[Judi Lynn]

By Springer Nature
November 30, 2025
3 Mins Read



New climate simulations suggest that a series of unusually long, region-wide droughts may have quietly reshaped the Indus Valley Civilization’s fate. Credit: Shutterstocknbs


A series of severe droughts, each extending for more than 85 years, was likely a major contributor to the gradual decline of the Indus Valley Civilization, according to research published in Communications Earth & Environment.

These results offer new insight into why this influential ancient society — a contemporary of ancient Egypt located near the present-day India-Pakistan border — weakened over time and demonstrate how environmental pressures can shape the course of early civilizations.

Background on the Indus Valley Civilization

The Indus Valley Civilization (IVC) was among the world’s earliest urban cultures, flourishing between 5,000 and 3,500 years ago along the Indus River system in what is now Pakistan and northwest India. At its height, between 4,500 and 3,900 years ago, the society featured well-planned cities and advanced water management. Despite this sophistication, the factors behind the civilization’s slow decline have remained uncertain.

Vimal Mishra and his team reconstructed climate patterns across the IVC region from 5,000 to 3,000 years ago. Their analysis combined climate simulations with evidence from several indirect records of past environmental conditions, including the geochemical signatures of stalactites and stalagmites in two Indian caves and water level data from five lakes in northwest India.

Long drought cycles reshaped settlement choices in the Indus region. These climate stresses likely contributed to its slow collapse.

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