The institution was created by Resolution of the Council of Ministers of the USSR dated May 18, 1989 No. 413 and a joint decision of the State Hydrometeorological Committee of the USSR and the USSR Academy of Sciences dated September 25, 1990 No. 104/141.
On May 10, 2018, by order of Roshydromet No. 183, the institute was named after Academician Yuri Antonievich Izrael and the institution received the name:Yu. A. Izrael Institute of Global Climate and Ecology (IGCE).