In Asia, Europe and the Americas, this is how climate change destroyed these four ancient civilizations

This year witnessed severe weather events around the world, including extensive forest fires, extreme temperatures, torrential rains and massive floods;

Which opened the door to historical comparisons in ancient cycles and eras in which climate change caused the collapse of civilizations and the dismantling of ancient kingdoms.

In a report published by the "World Economic Forum" website, writer Shawn Fleming said that the planet experienced 7 cycles of the Ice Age, characterized by the expansion and contraction of glaciers over the past 650,000 years.

The last major ice age ended 11,000 years ago, and since then the climate has been mostly stable, despite the small ice age that the earth experienced between 1200 and 1850 AD, but climate change is not limited to the spread of glaciers, as many great civilizations were destroyed due to the effects of conditions. locally changing climatic conditions.

Mayan

The writer mentioned that the history of the Mayan civilization in Central America is estimated at 3 thousand years, and this empire extended throughout the Yucatan Peninsula, Guatemala, Belize, parts of Mexico, western Honduras and El Salvador.

Agriculture was fundamental to the Maya civilization, and great cities were built as the population grew. Religion had always been an important part of Maya life, and sacrifice, including human sacrifice, was a regular ritual;

With the aim of appeasing and nourishing the gods and preserving the fertility of the earth.

But sometime around 900 AD, things began to go wrong for this civilization, as overcrowding put great pressure on the resources, and the increasing competition for them led the Maya to enter into violent conflict with neighboring countries, and a long drought spelled death;

destroying crops and cutting off the supply of drinking water, but they are not the only ancient civilization to have been catastrophized by climate change.

The Akkadian Empire and the Khmer

More than 4 thousand years ago in Mesopotamia, the Akkadian Empire ruled large areas, but the drought of 300 years destroyed all its plans.

When the effects of the drought affected the population, they were forced to leave the affected areas and migrate to areas where the forest is spread, but the mass migration events increased pressure on the remaining resources, which exacerbated the problems.

The empire suddenly collapsed, plunged into a state of intense conflict and mass migrations.

Some ancient writings say that the reason is the anger of the gods against the sinful king of the country, but a team from Japan's Okaido University came up with another reason;

It is the long cold winter, according to a previous report by Al Jazeera Net.

The study stated that Mesopotamia suffered from a long and dry winter during that period, during which the amounts of rain decreased in an unprecedented manner, and in turn, the rates of cold north winds increased with dust storms, a climatic behavior that is expected to greatly affect agricultural activity in any place.

The famous Angkor Wat temple in Cambodia is a good reminder of the ingenuity of another civilization lost in history, the Khmer Empire in Southeast Asia, which was a prosperous kingdom in Indochina between 802 and 1431 AD, but was destroyed as a result of drought interspersed with violent monsoon rains Against the background of climate change.

Vikings

It is also believed that the Viking settlers of Greenland in the far north of the Atlantic Ocean were affected by climate change, as 5,000 settlers lived on the island for about 500 years, but their lives were changed by climate change;

Temperatures on the island have cooled, dramatically reducing their farm production and making raising livestock more difficult.

Although they tried to change their eating habits and focus on the sea as a source of food, life in Greenland became very difficult;

Eventually prompting them to leave the island.

The natural cycle of climate change may be an ongoing and inescapable part of life, but history seems to be trying to tell us that when past civilizations depleted natural resources, the effects of climate change quickly worsened, with dire consequences for all who got in their way.

worry about the future

Since the advent of the Industrial Revolution, increasing amounts of polluting gases have been pumped into the atmosphere;

As a result, temperatures rose at an unprecedented rate.

According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, human activity has caused the Earth's temperature to rise by approximately one degree Celsius.

Between 2030 and 2052, the global temperature is likely to rise by 1.5°C.

This increase could cause the extinction of between 20 and 30% of animal species, according to a report by the World Economic Forum website.

The writer pointed out that if the temperature of the planet increased by an average of two degrees Celsius, the damage would be worse;

One of the threats of climate change to humans is the rise in sea levels, knowing that 8 of the 10 largest cities in the world are concentrated on the coastal strip.

Another threat is the threat of climate-induced drought that could cause a mass migration similar to the one that occurred thousands of years ago.

The Climate and Migration Alliance warned that countries affected by armed conflict or civil war are particularly vulnerable to famine in case of drought.

The Horn of Africa, which includes Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia and Somalia, has been hit hard by conflict and climate change, with some 13 million people facing serious food shortages.

In the troubled parts of the world, it is very difficult to meet the challenges of drought and famine because the task of getting aid to people in a conflict zone is fraught with difficulties and dangers.

This could make the effects more profound and long-lasting, which in turn would increase the likelihood of large numbers of people being displaced in search of a place to live.

The report concludes by saying that the challenge facing our world due to climate change should not be underestimated, but unlike the civilizations of the Maya, Mesopotamia and other ancient civilizations, people in the 21st century can save the situation.