According to the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), Norway will host the International Polar Year from 2032 to 2033, marking the fifth installment of the programme.
The University of Tromsø in Norway will serve as the central coordinating hub for international polar research, overseeing collaboration and scientific efforts throughout the decade surrounding the 2032–2033 International Polar Year.
Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre commented:
“The fact that the University of Tromsø is taking on this role now means that we in Norway are given a main responsibility for coordination, direction, and prioritization.”
“It is a real feather in the cap for the entire polar research community in Tromsø, the Arctic capital, that this responsibility now lies there. For me, it has always been important that Norway, as a small country, maintains an intellectual lead on these issues. People come to Norway because we have worked on something over time that is valuable to understand, and because we have environments capable of collaborating well across disciplines. It matters for Norway, for our security, and for our geopolitical position that the major powers come to us and that we secured the secretariat for international cooperation in Tromsø,” Gahr Støre explained.
The initiative aims to address pressing global challenges through expanded research in the polar regions, with particular attention to the impacts of climate change on the Arctic and Antarctic.