BSIP study of Tamil Nadu's Kondagai Lake reconstructs 4,500 years of monsoon history
Scientists of the Birbal Sahni Institute of Palaeosciences, Lucknow, reconstructed about 4,500 years of climate and monsoon history from sediments of Kondagai Lake near Sivaganga, Tamil Nadu, the Science Ministry said on 15 January 2026.
Summary
Kondagai Lake, an inland lake near Sivaganga in Tamil Nadu and close to the Keeladi archaeological site, has yielded one of the most detailed climate records from peninsular India, according to a study by the Birbal Sahni Institute of Palaeosciences (BSIP), Lucknow, an autonomous institute of DST. Researchers took 32 samples from a sediment profile just over a metre deep and used stable isotopes, pollen, grain size and radiocarbon dating. The study, published in the journal Holocene, is the first high-resolution multiproxy reconstruction of Late Holocene climate from inland Tamil Nadu, covering about 4,500 years. It identifies the 4.2 ka arid event, the 3.2 ka dry phase and the Roman Warm Period, and links them to monsoon variability and human activity.
Key facts
- Site
- Kondagai Lake, near Sivaganga, Tamil Nadu (close to Keeladi)
- Institute
- Birbal Sahni Institute of Palaeosciences (BSIP), Lucknow — DST
- Samples
- 32 from a ~1 m sediment profile
- Period covered
- About 4,500 years (Late Holocene)
- Phases found
- 4.2 ka arid event, 3.2 ka dry phase, Roman Warm Period
- Journal
- Holocene
Practice MCQs 3 questions
Kondagai Lake, from which a 4,500-year climate record was reconstructed in a study released in January 2026, lies near which archaeological site?
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Correct answer: A — Keeladi
PIB (Science & Technology): Kondagai Lake lies close to Keeladi, near Sivaganga, Tamil Nadu.
Which institute carried out the Kondagai Lake palaeoclimate study?
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Correct answer: D — Birbal Sahni Institute of Palaeosciences, Lucknow
PIB (Science & Technology): researchers from the Birbal Sahni Institute of Palaeosciences (BSIP), Lucknow, an autonomous institution of DST, carried out the study.
Which of the following climatic phases was identified in the Kondagai Lake study published in the journal Holocene?
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Correct answer: C — Roman Warm Period
PIB (Science & Technology): the study documented the 4.2 ka arid event, the 3.2 ka dry phase and the Roman Warm Period.