Despite being a desert country, scientists in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) are focusing on the coldest corners of the planet. For UAE researchers, the Arctic and Antarctica serve as early warning systems for changes occurring on the planet.
Since the launch of the Emirates Polar Research Program in 2023, UAE researchers have participated in five expeditions to the Arctic and Antarctica. This expansion of the country's scientific activities covers ice sheets and glaciers, including fieldwork in Antarctica, research in the Arctic in Svalbard, and the UAE's first scientific expedition to Greenland, scheduled for July 2026.
The UAE, becoming the first Arab country to launch a national polar science program, is studying the poles because, as Lulia Al Khatib explained, the influence of the Arctic and Antarctic extends across the entire planet, despite their geographical distance from the UAE. These polar zones are critically important for regulating Earth's climate, oceans, and weather systems, making them indispensable for understanding global environmental changes.
For the UAE, this program goes beyond studying distant ice sheets; it aims to determine how changes in the world's coldest regions can affect sea levels, oceans, weather patterns, and long-term climate risks, which are particularly relevant for coastal countries like the UAE.
Al Khatib emphasized that the Arctic and Antarctica are central elements of the Earth's climate system. Changes in ocean temperature, sea ice conditions, glaciers, and atmospheric conditions can impact weather regimes, ocean circulation, and climate systems far beyond the polar regions.
According to her, polar research is significant for all countries because the climate system is interconnected, and data gathered from the poles helps scientists better comprehend global environmental changes. The polar regions function as an early warning system for climate shifts.
Scientists are studying atmospheric processes, glacier conditions, oceanic conditions, and ice sheets to understand the pace of planetary transformation. This is especially crucial for coastal cities. According to recent scientific assessments presented by Al Khatib, the rate of global sea-level rise has doubled over the last three decades, reaching approximately 4.5 mm per year today.
Al Khatib added that polar changes are not just a polar issue but a problem of global systems that shape weather, oceans, coastlines, biodiversity, and long-term ecological stability. Understanding these processes is part of responsible preparation for the future.
The Emirates Polar Research Program supports scientific research in meteorology, climate change, ocean systems, cryosphere, environmental monitoring, and meteorology. As part of the UAE's participation in Antarctic expeditions with the Bulgarian Antarctic Institute, UAE researchers assisted in operating stations for monitoring weather and seismic activity, as well as instruments tracking atmospheric conditions, ice melt, sea level, and methane in permafrost and glacial deposits.
These activities, according to Al Khatib, contribute to the UAE's involvement in a broader scientific understanding of polar environments and their connection to global climate change. Polar research also provides scientists with access to data from regions that play a key role in shaping global climatic, oceanic, and atmospheric systems, thereby improving weather forecasting models and long-term change predictions.
Through these expeditions, the UAE is developing its own scientific capabilities in fields such as meteorology, atmospheric science, ocean monitoring, geosciences, and environmental studies. Institutions such as Khalifa University and the National Center for Meteorology play a vital role in this work. International cooperation is fundamental to polar science, and the Emirates Polar Research Program is built around it, combining fieldwork with the expansion of official agreements.