PolarRES wrapped
20 February 2026
PolarRES was a Horizon 2020 research project dedicated to improving understanding of how rapid changes in the Arctic and Antarctic influence the global climate system. Over more than four years, the project consortium advanced more reliable polar climate projections through an innovative storylines approach, linking large-scale circulation patterns to regional climate impacts.
Alongside its scientific work, PolarRES placed strong emphasis on communication, dissemination and exploitation activities. Considerable effort was dedicated to ensuring that results were accessible to a wide range of audiences, from researchers and policymakers to educators and the wider public.
Discover all outputs and tools in this article.
Quick links
Interactive tools
PolarRES developed a suite of digital tools to make polar climate information more accessible and transparent, utilising intuitive visual formats.
Polar Storyline Lens
Explore projected climate changes across both Polar Regions through map-based projections of variables such as temperature and precipitation. Compare emissions scenarios and time periods, from historical conditions to late twenty-first century projections.
Polar (change) Explorer
Discover key processes in the atmosphere, ocean and cryosphere. By selecting labelled elements on this infographic, users can access concise explanations.
Polar Panorama
An interactive showcase of personal perspectives on vulnerability and protection efforts in the Polar Regions. Moving beyond a researcher-centred view, it incorporates contributions from residents, travellers and professionals.
PolarRES in Practice Stories
These short storyboards combine behind-the-scenes accounts with science explainers, illustrating how PolarRES research was conducted and why the results matter for society and policy.
A library of resources
In addition to interactive tools, PolarRES produced an extensive body of outputs that synthesise and communicate research findings.
The consortium published almost one hundred open access articles in various scientific journals covering a broad range of polar and climate science topics.
Various video series documented the project’s objectives, key results and the researchers behind the work.
- Explain it in Two ways breaks down complex scientific processes for both a general audience and a scientific audience.
- PolarRES in the Spotlight explores key project topics and how they are being studied.
- Young researchers in the Spotlight highlights individual researchers and their contributions to the project.
Towards the end of the project, PolarRES released a set of factsheets designed to translate research into policy-relevant insights. These factsheets outline how climate change is transforming Arctic and Antarctic environments and societies, and are tailored to policymakers, researchers, practitioners and local communities.
Topics include:
- Boreal wildfires
- Permafrost thaw
- Radionuclides
- Marine ecosystems
- Trans-Arctic navigation
- Extreme weather and climate events in the Arctic
PolarRES also co-released a policy brief with fellow EU-funded projects CRiceS, PROTECT and OCEAN ICE, titled “Future-Proofing the EU Through Polar Science: A Call for Sustained Research and Strategic Investment“.
Drawing on the collective expertise of the four projects, the brief calls for sustained and mission-driven investment in polar observation, modelling and innovation under the EU Multiannual Financial Framework 2028 to 2034 and the Tenth Framework Programme.
All outputs are available in the PolarRES library, organised by region, impact area and document type.
The work continues in SnowPI
Communication, dissemination and exploitation activities were central to ensuring that PolarRES results extend beyond the lifetime of the project.
Building on the foundations laid by PolarRES, the work continues under the Horizon Europe project SnowPI. While PolarRES focused on improving projections of polar climate change through atmospheric and oceanic storylines, SnowPI advances our understanding of the crysosphere through the lens of snow. Snow interacts closely with other components of the cryosphere and plays a critical role in regulating their response to climate change, extending and deepening the scientific perspective developed in PolarRES.
Through this continuation, several PolarRES tools will remain active and continue to be updated, ensuring they stay relevant and operational. Follow the PolarRES Bluesky account, soon to become the SnowPI account, and visit the SnowPI website to keep up with this next chapter.