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By Mohammed Tawfeeq, CNN (CNN) — Iraq, the historic “land between two rivers,” faces a crisis striking at its identity as the Tigris and Euphrates shrink dramatically amid severe drought and the increasing toll of upstream dams, helping create the country’s worst water shortages for decades. Once symbols of abundance, the two rivers, which both originate

By Ashley Strickland, CNN (CNN) — The Ursid meteor shower, which marks the final celestial event of the year, will peak between Sunday night and early Monday morning. Sky-gazers can expect to see five to 10 meteors per hour between midnight and 5 a.m. ET Monday, or between 9 p.m. PT Sunday and 2 a.m.

By Taylor Nicioli, CNN (CNN) — Along with its many other innovations, the Roman Empire revolutionized architecture with never-before-seen features, such as large-scale arches and dome roofs. And many of these structures still stand today despite being more than 2,000 years old. None of it would have been possible without the Romans’ infallible building material:

By Laura Paddison, CNN (CNN) — Only a scattering of light penetrates the deep water, more than 300 feet beneath the ocean surface off the coast of Guam. It’s like twilight to the human eye, even in the middle of the day. This part of the ocean, known as the upper twilight zone, is one

By Jackie Wattles, CNN (CNN) — A Blue Origin rocket will soon launch carrying an unconventional passenger in a history-making moment made possible by a high-profile former employee of the company’s biggest rival. Michaela Benthaus, an aerospace and mechatronics engineer at the European Space Agency, will be aboard the mission, known as NS-37, and become

By Taylor Nicioli, CNN (CNN) — Contrary to popular depictions of bee nests as large, intricate hives that hang from trees, the majority of bee species — about 90% — are actually solitary and build their nests in the ground or within rotting logs and the stems of plants. But researchers recently discovered what is

By Jackie Wattles, CNN (CNN) — A monthslong saga featuring tech billionaire Jared Isaacman — President Donald Trump’s on-again, off-again pick to run NASA — has finally come to a close as the Senate confirmed his appointment in a 67-to-30 vote. Isaacman, a private astronaut and CEO of payments company Shift4, is now set to

By Andrew Freedman, CNN NEW ORLEANS (CNN) — Stress balls were the swag item of choice at the National Center for Atmospheric Research’s booth Wednesday morning, during the world’s largest gathering of climate scientists. NCAR representatives came to this meeting — the convention of the American Geophysical Union — to talk about their research, which

By Chris Mooney, Yumi Asada (CNN) — Bathtubs and pools mislead us about the ocean: Its surface is anything but flat. Seas pile up in some spots, pushed by trade winds or pulled by gravity toward big things like ice sheets. Amid it all, at the western end of large ocean basins, the fastest surface

By Laura Paddison, CNN (CNN) — Hundreds gathered to say goodbye when 700-year-old Pizol died. The funeral in Switzerland in 2019 was solemn. Mourners wore black; flowers were laid; a priest spoke. It was a symbolic moment: Pizol had been a glacier, but human-driven climate change had reduced it to some scattered chunks of ice.

By Katie Hunt, CNN (CNN) — A pod of Pacific white-sided dolphins off the coast of British Columbia have been observed cooperating with orcas, a traditional enemy that’s better known for taking out great white sharks than friendly interaction. Scientists say they have documented the dolphins and a local population of killer whales known as

By Chris Mooney Planet-warming pollution rates exploded after the end of World War II. James Watt’s steam engine launched the Industrial Revolution in 1769. Before that, for thousands of years, humans were clearing forested land for farming, releasing carbon from trees and plants into the atmosphere. The severity of global warming has long depended on

By Gina Park, CNN (CNN) — Avid sky-gazers spend all year anticipating the peak of the annual Geminid meteor shower. Now, it’s finally here. This weekend, dozens of meteors, including some especially brilliant ones called fireballs, are expected to streak across the night sky in a dazzling display. The celestial event is widely considered one

By Laura Paddison, CNN (CNN) — Nothing on the surface of this scrubby expanse of western Nevada desert, overlooked by towering, craggy mountains, gives even a hint of what lies beneath. But a few thousand feet underground is a hidden source of abundant clean energy — and it was discovered in an unusual way. Utah-headquartered

By Taylor Nicioli, CNN (CNN) — When an ancient ship was unearthed in Scandinavia over 100 years ago, archaeologists started to uncover bits and pieces of its history. On board the plank-built vessel was a hoard of weapons — swords, spears, shields and more — revealing a tale of warriors who attempted to attack the

By Ella Nilsen, Andrew Freedman, CNN (CNN) — The Environmental Protection Agency has altered and removed information from its website that connected climate change to the burning of fossil fuels. The changes come as the Trump administration tries to supercharge US oil and gas production and resurrect the coal industry. Now, the EPA’s webpage detailing