Cath Senker - Polar Climates

The Arctic includes parts of eight countries: Canada, the United States, Iceland, Greenland, Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Russia. Nobody lives permanently in Antarctica.

The Suns rays do not strike Earth directly at the polar regions as they do at the. The warmth of the Sun barely reaches the poles.

The polar regions get no direct sunlight because the Suns rays hit the land at an angle. The rays are spread over a wide area. This means the polar regions receive less heat than other parts of the world.

Some plants have adapted to survive with little sunshine or rain. Animals roam the land or swim in the oceans with fur or for protection against the elements. Some people brave the freezing temperatures to make their homes here. Now, climate change is raising temperatures at the icy poles more rapidly than anywhere else on the planet. In this journey to the poles, we will learn about life in the polar climate zones and discover how changes here could affect everyone.

Most people probably only see ice in the winter. Large parts of Antarctica and Greenland are covered in all year round, while much of the Arctic Ocean has a thin layer of sea ice floating on it.

The polar climate is one of the most hostile on Earth. Its bitterly cold and the ground is covered in thick snow and ice. There are just two seasons summer and winter. The weather forecast is almost always the same: cold, cold, and more cold.

Large, permanent expanses of ice reflect the Suns weak rays. These ice sheets cool the water around them and the air above them, lowering the temperature more. In the middle of Antarctica, winter temperatures have dropped to an unbelievably low 135.8 Fahrenheit (93.2 Celsius).

The Arctic summer lasts from June to August. In Antarctica, summer appears briefly from January to February. But even in summer, the temperature rarely rises above 32F (0C) at the polar .

The polar tundra is a bit milder: in the winter, temperatures only drop to 70F (57C). In summer, average temperatures go up to 50F (10C) in July. Its like early spring in Illinois. Thats as warm as it ever gets!

These charts show the temperature and rainfall in Yakutsk, Russia, the coldest city in the world.

AMAZING FACT:

Polar scientists have been known to dash outside naked when its 100F (73C)! Humans can survive such temperatures for about three minutes.

DAY AND NIGHT

Day and night at the poles are as extreme as the temperatures. A places determines the amount of daylight it has. Being farthest from the Equator, the poles have barely any daylight in midwinter. At midsummer, the poles are bathed in sunlight almost 24 hours a day. Thats why the Arctic is known as the land of the midnight sun. Sounds great for a summer party? Sadly, its way too cold.

The city of Tromso in Norway is in the land of the midnight sun. On summer nights, people can go walking and cycling or even swim.

WINDS

Not only is it freezing cold at the poles, but there are also fierce winds blowing.