‘The govt’s version of history is less dependent on science, more on divine sayings’

Journalist Tony Joseph debunks the myth of India being the homeland of the Aryans and offers a scientific chronicle in his latest book. Here, he …

Why are dates used to break the Ramadan fast?

The answer lies in geography, theology and modern science

Iranian officials squabble over toll as COVID-19 sweeps West Asia

Meanwhile, Chinese federal government to increase funds to local governments even as world races to develop a vaccine

An ancient system that could bring water to dry areas

An ancient system of drawing water from aquifers “qanat system” could help Africa's dry areas faciing water shortages

Climate change made the multi-year drought 25 times more likely in Syria and Iraq, 16 times in Iran: Analysis

If the world warms 2°C above the preindustrial era, similar droughts are predicted to strike about twice as often as they do now

As war looms over West Asia, many of its major water bodies are already on the brink

The Tigris-Euphrates and Jordan river basins, Dead Sea, Zayandeh Rud, Red Sea and Persian Gulf are symbols of the intertwined geopolitical & …

Quarter of global population faces extremely high water stress each year

West Asia and North Africa most water-stressed  

More toxic sludge than fresh water produced from desalination

That is the conclusion reached by the first global assessment of the desalination sector’s industrial waste

Turkey-Syria quake: The Anatolian Plate is one of the most seismically active; here is why

The Anatolian Plate sits between three major tectonic plates: African, Arabian and Eurasian

Climate disasters are becoming more frequent in west, central Asia than other regions: IMF

West and central Asia are hotspots for climate change due to their geographical setting, says new paper

Every fifth child faces water scarcity globally: Unicef report

More than 155 million children in South Asia live in areas with high or even extremely high water vulnerability, Unicef says

Climate impact: Water storage projected to decrease across wetter lands around Caspian, Mediterranean seas

Water storage may see increase in West Asia and North Africa; solar geoengineering method worsens conditions, finds study

Double burden of indoor and outdoor air pollution in developing world: Report

A quarter of global deaths due to particulate air pollution occur in India. Globally air pollution is the 4th largest killer

`Indian cuisine is rediscovering itself'

Ethnic Indian food is reinventing itself, says Colleen Taylor Sen, considered to be one of the leading historians on Indian and South Asian food. …

Eastern Mediterranean, West Asia warming 2 times faster than global average: Report

Temperatures projected to rise by up to 5°C by 2100

India world’s 13th most water-stressed country: WRI

The World Resources Institute also notes that 12 of the world's most water-stressed countries are in the Middle East and North Africa

Lumpy skin disease: The deadly pandemic that has taken root among India’s bovines

This will have a devastating impact on the country, where most dairy farmers are either landless or marginal landholders and milk is among the …

Iraq’s orange sky is a red flag. Here’s why

Experts link the frequent, intense dust storms in Iraq with climate change

Why control of Mosul dam in Iraq means life or death for nearly two million people

The dam had reportedly been seized by Islamic State militants on August 7

Water shortage deepens in West Asia and North Africa

Around 1.2 billion people, almost one-fifth of the world's population, live in areas of physical scarcity of water, says UN

For West Asia, it could soon be a battle for water

Along with scarcity induced by population pressure, use of water as a weapon of war is also draining the resources in the region

Millions of displaced people face dual hardship of COVID-19: Report

Wars, conflict and natural disasters displaced 14.6 million people in 127 countries from January-June 2020

Wild relatives of crops at risk in conflict-ridden West Asia

Violence and strife have affected their conservation, threatening global food security.

Wildlife trade is thriving on Internet, finds study

Survey finds wild animals and wildlife products worth US $11 million for sale online in 16 countries

More than 12 GW of solar PV projects in the pipeline in West Asia, Africa

Reason for the surge is varied. It ranges from improving lives of the energy poor, to reducing dependency on fossil fuels