The UAE is accelerating its engagement in polar science through treaty accessions, international research partnerships and high-profile expeditions.
The strategy aims to build national capability while contributing to global climate change research across the Arctic and Antarctic.
The UAE strengthened its role in polar science by acceding to the Antarctic Treaty System under Federal Decree No. 165 of 2024. The accession allows the country to participate in consultative meetings and propose national research initiatives alongside international climate agencies.
At the same time, the UAE secured observer status on the Arctic Council under Federal Decree No. 164 of 2024, expanding its participation in northern environmental dialogue and future research programmes.
In February, Emirati meteorology and seismology specialists, working in a joint mission with the Bulgarian Antarctic Institute, installed two advanced monitoring stations in Antarctica to collect atmospheric and seismic data.
The collaboration continued in November, when a UAE scientific team joined Bulgaria’s 34th Antarctic expedition for the second consecutive year.
The team is operating through UAE laboratories at the Bulgarian base, developing and upgrading projects launched under the UAE Polar Programme in 2024.
The programme focuses on building national capabilities in polar science and strengthening the UAE’s contribution to global climate research.
UAE polar science
In 2025, the UAE signed memoranda of understanding with Argentina and New Zealand to enhance cooperation in Antarctic research, exchange academic expertise and support national capacity-building in polar sciences.
The agreements centre on institutional cooperation and best practices, supporting the UAE’s long-term objective of establishing permanent research laboratories at both poles.
The UAE’s growing presence has also been marked by individual milestones in extreme exploration. This month, 18-year-old Emirati mountaineer Fatima Abdulrahman Al Awadhi became the youngest Arab woman to summit Mount Vinson, Antarctica’s highest peak.
The achievement follows a record-breaking mission by Emirati explorer Ibrahim Sharaf Al Hashemi, who completed the first circular flight around Antarctica using two helicopters. The 19,050-kilometre expedition ran from 4 December 2024 to 17 January 2025, starting and ending at Union Glacier Camp.
These feats build on the legacy of Abdullah Al-Ahbabi, the first Emirati to complete the “polar hat-trick” — skiing unsupported to the North Pole, South Pole and across Greenland. Al-Ahbabi completed the North Pole mission in 2018, the South Pole in 2019, and crossed Greenland in March 2025.
