Reporters learned from the Qinghai Tibet Plateau Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Sciences on the 20th that researchers from the Institute and the International Research Center for Big Data on Sustainable Development and other institutions revealed that the seemingly remote polar regions, in fact, profoundly affect the survival and development of all mankind through the complex "climate chain", which has become a key weakness in the global realization of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and it is urgent for the international community to strengthen attention and action. The relevant research results were published in the journal Nature Communications. The polar regions are extremely sensitive to climate change, and their environmental changes not only affect the local area, but also have profound impacts on global sustainable development. This study reveals that the temperature in the Arctic is rising at a rate of 0.68 ℃ every 10 years, far exceeding the global average, while the Antarctic and Qinghai Tibet Plateau are also showing a significant warming trend. With the rise of temperature, significant changes have occurred in the polar cryosphere and ecological hydrological system. These changes have a profound impact on the achievement of climate action (SDG13) goals in the SDGs. Meanwhile, the melting of polar glaciers and ice caps directly affects the sustainable management of water resources and exacerbates sea level rise, posing a threat to ecological security. Through online expert surveys, researchers quantified the strength of the correlation between polar regions and the achievement of global sustainable development goals. The results show that all 17 sustainable development goals may be influenced by polar regions, with SDG13 having the strongest association with polar regions, followed closely by clean water and sanitation (SDG6), terrestrial organisms (SDG15), and underwater organisms (SDG14). "This shows that the polar regions are not only the 'fresh water reservoir' of the earth, but also the 'voltage stabilizer' of the global ecosystem. They not only preserve a large amount of precious fresh water, but also maintain the climate balance, and guard the survival homes of countless unique animals and plants, which is crucial to mankind." said Li Xin, the first author of the paper and a researcher at the Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. This study points out that the current United Nations SDGs framework and its 248 indicators are difficult to fully cover and reflect the unique challenges and global impacts faced by sustainable development in polar regions. To this end, we suggest moderately expanding the existing SDG goals and indicator system, such as adding a dedicated target SDG13.4 for the cryosphere under SDG13, and proposing specific indicators to monitor changes in key elements of the cryosphere. ”Academician Guo Huadong, Director of the International Research Center for Sustainable Development Big Data, said. Data is the cornerstone of effective evaluation and management. The research further proposes two priority areas: firstly, enriching network infrastructure and Earth observation systems, developing comprehensive and interoperable polar data platforms to support the comprehensive assessment and strategic optimization of sustainable development goals in polar regions; The second is to strengthen basic scientific research in polar regions, promote research on polar global mechanisms, deepen understanding of critical changes in the cryosphere, establish coupling models between natural and social systems, and enhance the ability to identify and early warn of system mutation risks. (New Society)