Extracted Data Points:

  • Study covers Majuli Island in Assam, the world's largest inhabited river island
  • Research reconstructs approximately 4,000 years of climate and vegetation history
  • Island located between Brahmaputra River (south and east), Subansiri River (west), and a branch of Brahmaputra (north)
  • Scientists collected 150 centimeter deep sediment core from Sakali wetland on Majuli Island
  • Study period covers 4040 to 500 calibrated years BP (Before Present)
  • Quantitative reconstruction of Mean Annual Temperature (MAT) and Mean Annual Precipitation (MAP)
  • Initial warm and humid phase identified from 4040-2260 calibrated years BP with dense forest cover
  • Dry climate conditions indicated around 4.2 thousand years period
  • Fluctuating monsoon intensity and flood phases followed
  • Relatively humid period during 1100-500 calibrated years BP corresponding to Medieval Climate Anomaly
  • Temperature and precipitation decline observed over last approximately 500 years, corresponding to Little Ice Age
  • Increased anthropogenic influence and expansion of scattered vegetation observed in recent centuries
  • Study published in Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology (Elsevier)
  • Publication DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.revpalbo.2026.105536
  • Research conducted by Birbal Sahni Institute of Palaeosciences (BSIP), Lucknow, an autonomous institute of Department of Science and Technology (DST)