UAE Polar Research Expansion Drives Arctic And Antarctic Collaborations And Record Expeditions
The United Arab Emirates is stepping up involvement in Arctic and Antarctic science through new treaties, technical missions and exploration records. These combined efforts support international climate research, with a focus on polar data, environmental monitoring and long-term scientific presence at both poles.
The UAE formalised participation in the Antarctic Treaty System under Federal Decree No. 165 of 2024. Membership enables attendance at consultative meetings and submission of national scientific proposals. Under Federal Decree No. 164 of 2024, the UAE also gained Arctic Council observer status, opening wider engagement in northern environmental discussions and research plans.
Under the UAE Polar Programme, research teams are using UAE laboratories at the Bulgarian base in Antarctica. Projects launched in 2024 are being refined and expanded there. The programme aims to build domestic expertise in polar science and strengthen the UAE role in international climate investigations.
Earlier, cooperation with the Bulgarian Antarctic Institute saw UAE meteorology and seismology experts install two advanced monitoring stations in February. The systems gather atmospheric and seismic data in Antarctica. Work continued in November, when a UAE scientific team joined Bulgaria’s 34th Antarctic expedition for a second year, advancing joint climate and geophysical studies.
In 2025, the UAE signed memoranda of understanding with Argentina and New Zealand on Antarctic collaboration. The agreements cover shared research, academic exchanges and training in polar sciences. They prioritise institutional links and best-practice frameworks, aligned with the UAE objective of creating permanent research laboratories in both Arctic and Antarctic regions.
UAE polar science exploration achievements
Alongside laboratory work, individual expeditions highlight UAE engagement in extreme environments. This month, 18-year-old Emirati mountaineer Fatima Abdulrahman Al Awadhi became the youngest Arab woman to reach the summit of Mount Vinson, the highest mountain in Antarctica, adding a high-altitude achievement to the national polar record.
Another milestone came from Emirati explorer Ibrahim Sharaf Al Hashemi, who completed the first circular flight around Antarctica using two helicopters. The 19,050-kilometre journey ran from 4th December 2024 to 17th January 2025, beginning and ending at Union Glacier Camp, and building on growing UAE experience in polar operational logistics.
These activities draw on earlier achievements by Abdullah Al-Ahbabi, the first Emirati to achieve the "polar hat-trick". Al-Ahbabi skied unsupported to the North Pole in 2018, reached the South Pole in 2019, and crossed Greenland in March 2025, giving the UAE a sustained record in extreme polar exploration.
With inputs from WAM
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