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Every month a polar climate has an average temperature of less than 10 °C (50 °F). Regions with a polar climate cover more than 20% of the Earth's area. Most of these regions are far from the equator and near the poles , and in this case, winter days are extremely short and summer days are extremely long (they could last for the entirety of ...
Visualization of the ice and snow covering Earth's northern and southern polar regions Northern Hemisphere permafrost (permanently frozen ground) in purple. The polar regions, also called the frigid zones or polar zones, of Earth are Earth's polar ice caps, the regions of the planet that surround its geographical poles (the North and South Poles), lying within the polar circles.
Ice cap climate is the world's coldest climate, and includes the coldest places on Earth. With an average temperature of −55.2 °C (−67.4 °F), Vostok, Antarctica is the coldest place in the world, and has also recorded the lowest temperature, −89.2 °C (−128.6 °F). [ 3 ]
Polar meteorology is the study of the atmosphere of Earth's polar regions. Surface temperature inversion is typical of polar environments and leads to the katabatic wind phenomenon. The vertical temperature structure of polar environments tends to be more complex than in mid-latitude or tropical climates.
The Köppen climate classification system was modified further within the Trewartha climate classification system in 1966 (revised in 1980). The Trewartha system sought to create a more refined middle latitude climate zone, which was one of the criticisms of the Köppen system (the climate group C was too general). [10]: 200–1
Today, the most commonly used climate map is the Köppen climate classification, developed by Russian climatologist of German descent and amateur botanist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940), which divides the world into five major climate regions, based on average annual precipitation, average monthly precipitation, and average monthly temperature.
Climate models simulated this trend in 2002. [8] The September minimum ice extent trend for 1979–2011 declined by 12.0% per decade during 32 years. [ 9 ] In 2007, the minimum extent fell by more than a million square kilometers, the biggest decline since accurate satellite data has been available, to 4,140,000 km 2 (1,600,000 sq mi).
The climate of the Arctic is characterized by long, cold winters and short, cool summers. There is a large amount of variability in climate across the Arctic , but all regions experience extremes of solar radiation in both summer and winter.