With eye on climate risk, UAE seeks NCPOR’s help with polarambitions

Panaji: The UAE has reached out to the Vasco-based National Centre for Polar and Ocean Research (NCPOR) seeking support for polar and climate change studies that can help the UAE predict weather patterns, unseasonal rainfall, and heatwaves. India and the UAE inked an MoU for cooperation on polar studies, to see the NCPOR mentor Emirati scientists and provide research support to the UAE.

The MoU was signed during the 4th Strategic Dialogue co-chaired by external affairs minister S Jaishankar and UAE foreign minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan. The two nations agreed to a strategic partnership in several areas, including defence, emerging technologies, nuclear energy, polar research, critical minerals, and renewable energy.

“Initially, they want help with climate change studies using remote sensing satellite studies, microbial studies, life under extreme conditions, coastal oceanography, and weather that impacts the UAE systems,” said NCPOR director Thamban Meloth.

Nearly a year’s worth of rain fell during a single 24-hour period in the UAE in April, affecting the cities of Dubai and Sharjah. The heavy floods killed 21 people and sparked alarm among policymakers. Keen to understand the reasons for the heavy rainfall, the UAE now wants to study the linkage between the polar ice caps and monsoon patterns in Asia. The NCPOR’s research has established the link between the Indian monsoon and melting sea ice and the polar ice caps.

“The main thing they are talking about is the climate as they have seen the connections with the Dubai floods and they are seeing the effects of climate change,” Meloth said. “Unfortunately, they have no background in studies in the polar region. They want to understand climate, and forecast weather patterns.”

The UAE’s long-term vision is to conduct field research in the polar regions. “The UAE now wants to be part of the Antarctic Treaty. They want to have scientific activities in the Antarctic and Arctic regions in the future,” Meloth said. “They currently do not have any institution to conduct research and this is something they have been pursuing strongly and that is why this collaboration is at a strategic level.”

Saudi Arabia joined the Antarctic Treaty on May 22 and the UAE wants to follow suit. The MoU is a step in that direction. “The MoU will facilitate cooperation between the two sides in the fields of polar and ocean regions through partnerships in polar operations, research and academic collaborations, capacity building, and supporting each other’s presence at the poles,” said the official spokesperson of the ministry of external affairs, Randhir Jaiswal. As part of the MoU, officials from the UAE Polar Steering Committee and UAE scientists will visit NCPOR’s research facilities in Goa and discuss a roadmap to train students from the UAE.