Polar climate
From Freepedia
Regions with a polar climate are characterized by a lack of warm summers (specifically, no month having an average temperature of 10°C or higher), resulting in the absence of trees in such places, which may also be covered with glaciers or a permanent or semi-permanent layer of ice.
There are two distinct subtypes of polar climate. The less severe of the two is the tundra climate, where at least one month has an average temperature of above freezing, while the colder one — known by various names including the ice cap climate and the perpetual frost climate — features sub-freezing average temperatures year-round.
The only continent where the polar climate is predominant is Antarctica. All but a few isolated coastal areas on the island of Greenland also have a polar climate. In additon, the northernmost part of the Eurasian land mass, from the northern tip of Scandinavia and eastwards to the Bering Strait, have a tundra climate, with large areas of northern Siberia included. Likewise, there are large areas in northern Canada and northern Alaska with tundra climate, or even ice cap climate in the most northern parts of Canada. Northern Iceland has tundra climate as well.
In other parts of the world, many mountains have a climate where no month having an average temperature of 10 deg C or higher, but as this is due to elevation, this climate is referred to as Alpine climate.
Polar climates have also been observed on other planets, such as Mars, which has noticeable ice caps on both poles.
See also
- Arctic
- Climate of Antarctica
- BeringClimate - A current view of the Bering Sea Ecosystem and Climate, from NOAA
- Near-Realtime Arctic Change Indicators, from NOAA
