Omani Students Rank First Internationally in GLOBE Environmental Research Programme

Muscat: Omani students who contested the 2025 edition of GLOBE Environmental Programme's Competition won first place globally. According to Oman News Agency, two Omani students won first place globally and in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region in GLOBE's International Virtual Science Symposium (IVSS). They were Khalfan Issa Al Husseini and Elias Walid Al Suleimani, from 'Said bin Nasser Al-Kindi Basic Education School' in Muscat Governorate. Their research was titled "Investigating GLOBE students' 10-year record of temperatures, compared to readings of the meteorological station in the Wilayat of Al-Amerat." The winning research focused on collecting data on daily temperatures from 2015 to 2024 in the Wilayat of Al Amerat, using GLOBE protocols and comparing findings with temperatures registered by the Meteorological Department. The research sought to study the consistency of registered temperatures, analyse the differences, and explore the factors that may influence these differences. Research results showed a slight variation between the data observed by the students and the data registered by the weather station when compared to corresponding months in previous years. The research showed that differences in the locations and devices used to monitor data may lead to differences in the observed temperatures from one location to another. It is worth noting that the Sultanate of Oman signed a memorandum of understanding for environmental cooperation in December 2009 with GLOBE Global Environmental Programme, supervised by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). The global educational programme, which started in 1994, deals with environmental science and education. The programme seeks to raise student awareness of issues affecting the global environment, support the progress made by students in the fields of science, mathematics, and geography, and enhance cooperation on international monitoring in favour of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).