Climate as a contributing factor in the demise of Angkor, Cambodia

Decades-long droughts followed by intense monsoons, likely driven by tropical Pacific sea surface temperature variations including El Niño events, contributed to the decline of Angkor, Cambodia's ancient Khmer Empire capital. A 750-year hydroclimate reconstruction from Vietnamese tree rings revealed that these extreme climatic conditions strained Angkor's water supply and agricultural productivity while damaging its sophisticated water control infrastructure. The study highlights how low-frequency tropical Pacific climate variations can significantly impact Southeast Asian societies, offering insights into the vulnerability of hydraulic civilizations to climate change.

Buckley, B. M., Anchukaitis, K. J., Penny, D., Fletcher, R., Cook, E. R., Sano, M., Nam, L. C., Wichienkeeo, A., Minh, T. T., & Hong, T. M. (2010). Climate as a contributing factor in the demise of Angkor, Cambodia. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 107(15), 6748–6752. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0910827107