Around 1900 BCE, the Indus Valley Civilization declined because of interrelated pressures. Leading urban settlements such as Mohenjo-daro and Harappa were slowly abandoned. Rather, it was an intricate breakdown of society. Interrelated environmental pressures and socio-economic pressures merged to destabilize the underpinnings of its substantial, however, orderly urban agglomerations.
Among them, a major factor was marked climatic change. Evidence demonstrates that a substantial shift in monsoon patterns has produced extended and intense droughts throughout the northwestern Indian subcontinent. Consequently, it sharply curtailed the vital water reserves. This induced environmental pressure fatally compromised the agricultural foundation that underpinned the civilization’s crowded urban centers and secured its economic viability.
Environmental degradation aggravated the crisis. Intensive agriculture and widespread deforestation over several centuries probably caused soil salinization, erosion, and the depletion of resources. Excessive exploitation of the local environment, together with scant rainfall, reduced agricultural yields. The resulting constriction on food availability weakened the ability to support the considerable urban populace.
Essential hydrological networks, most notably the Ghaggar-Hakra (possibly the Saraswati), experienced marked alterations in their courses, or they fully dried up. Being the civilization’s lifeblood, the rivers’ waning greatly crippled agricultural production and water availability. As a consequence, extensive population migrations pushed people from established cities to disparate, small villages.
Socio-economic factors were likewise a contributing factor. Exogenous disturbances along the empire’s long-distance trade arteries with Mesopotamia might have unsettled the domain’s economy. The stressful conditions within the society—chiefly over resource scarcity and mounting administrative strain—probably eroded social cohesion. As conditions declined, the central authorities needed to upkeep the cities progressively weakened.
Conclusion
A complicated confluence of key factors caused the downturn. Drought produced by severe climate change was central. Exacerbating these troubles were the drying up or course-changes of essential river systems, paired with local environmental damage. These pressures seriously compromised agriculture and water resources. Consequent economic upheaval, population relocation, and the reorientation of social structures pushed people to forsake urban centers and gravitate toward modest, rural communities.
