Palynological Perspective on Understanding Climate Change in India Over the Pre-industrial Common Era (CE; Past Ca. 2000 Years): a Comprehensive Review and a Critical Evaluation

Palynology (and pollen analysis) has proven to be a reliable tool in reconstructing the past vegetation (dynamics) and contemporary climatic changes. The chapter reviews the role of pollen in reconstructing the palaeoclimate in India over the pre-industrial Common Era (CE; past ca. 2000 years [2 ka]; past 2 millennia; Late Holocene), comprising the global climatic events, such as the Roman Warm Period (RWP), Dark Ages Cold Period (DACP), Medieval Climate Anomaly (MCA), Little Ice Age (LIA) and the Current Warm Period (CWP). In addition, the hydro-climatic variability, which influences the socio-economic welfare of one-third of the human population through the agricultural output and Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of this densely-populated country, are also analyzed. This chapter also discusses the solar forcing and the other forcing factors behind the hydroclimatic variability during the past 2 millennia in India.