Understanding the spatiotemporal monsoonal variability during the Holocene helps in understanding the rise and fall of many civilizations. In this study, a 2.65 m high palaeo lake sedimentary profile from the Kumaun Lesser Himalaya, Uttarakhand State, India was pollen analysed to reconstruct the variability in the monsoonal precipitation during the Middle Holocene. The study revealed that between ~7522 and 7216 cal yr BP, conifers dominated mixed broad-leaved forests occurred around the landscape of the study area, indicating a less cold and dry climate with decreased monsoon precipitation. Broad-leaved taxa during this phase show increased values considerably, indicating amelioration in climatic condition, which could be, in global perspective, broadly falling within the time-interval of the Holocene Climate Optimum (HCO; 7000–4000 BP). Between ~7216 and 6526 cal yr BP, dense conifers-dominated mixed broad-leaved forests transformed the conifers-dominated broad-leaved forests around the study area under a cold and drier climate with further reduction in monsoon precipitation. Subsequently, between ~6526 and 5987 cal yr BP, conifers-dominated broad-leaved forests continued to grow, but with lesser frequencies, around the study area under a comparatively less cold and dry climate with reduced monsoon precipitation. Finally, between ~5987 and 5817 cal yr BP, the frequencies of conifers-dominated broad-leaved forests further decreased around the landscape of the study area under a comparatively lesser cold and dry climate, probably indicating decreased monsoonal precipitation. Hence, the present study mainly showed the dominance of conifers forests around the study area between ~7522 and 7216 cal yr BP, ~7216 and 6526 cal yr BP, ~6526 and 5987 cal yr BP and between ~5987 and 5817 cal yr BP; however, broad-leaved forests also demonstrated increasing tendency between ~7522 and 7216 cal yr BP in the milieu of cold and dry climates. Moreover, the study also revealed that a lake was formed around 7522 cal yr BP along the Kulur River, a tributary of Saryu River around the study area and existed until 5817 cal yr BP.

We present multiproxy records from a 2.25-m-long lake sediment profile from central India, which suggested that between ~22,200 and 18,658 cal yr BP, the Indian Summer Monsoon (ISM) was weak, supporting open vegetation in a cool and dry climate, which is globally correlated with the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM). The grain size data of this phase suggest low-energy conditions, indicating a weak ISM. Environmental magnetic concentration-dependent parameters also confirm this weakened ISM. Between ~18,658 and 7340 cal yr BP, the ISM underwent a notable increase, and open mixed tropical deciduous forests replaced the existing vegetation under a warm and moderately humid climate. Environmental magnetic parameters and the grain size data signal a shift toward higher energy levels, in harmony with the warm and moderately humid climate during this time span. Between ~7340 and 1960 cal yr BP, the ISM intensity further increased, which supported open mixed tropical deciduous forests with a rise in prominent tree species under a warm and a relatively more humid climate, correlated with the global Holocene Climatic Optimum (HCO). The trends in environmental magnetic parameters and grain size data mirror this phase of climatic amelioration. From ~1961 cal yr BP to the present, the ISM has intensified, giving rise to dense mixed tropical deciduous forests under a warm and relatively more humid climate. Environmental magnetic parameters and the grain size data are in tandem with the palynogical findings from this phase of the ISM variability.