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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.
Solar radiation has a lower intensity in polar regions because the angle at which it hits the earth is not as direct as at the equator. Another effect is that sunlight has to go through more atmosphere to reach the ground. [1] The polar climate regions are characterized by a lack of warm summers but with varying winters. Every month a polar ...
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.
The word Arctic comes from the Greek word ἀρκτικός (arktikos), "near the Bear, northern" [4] and from the word ἄρκτος (arktos), meaning bear. [5] The name refers either to the constellation known as Ursa Major, the "Great Bear", which is prominent in the northern portion of the celestial sphere, or to the constellation Ursa Minor, the "Little Bear", which contains the celestial ...
The continent of Europe comprises a large part of the Palearctic ecozone, with many unique biomes and ecoregions. Biogeographically, Europe is tied closely to Siberia, commonly known as the Euro-Siberian region. The European Environmental Agency (EEA) divides Europe into a total of eleven terrestrial biogeographical regions and seven regional ...
A Köppen-Geiger climate classification map of the European Union [1]. The European Union is generally characterized by a temperate climate.Most of Western Europe has an oceanic climate, in the Köppen climate classification, featuring cool to warm summers and cool winters with frequent overcast skies.
An image of the Gulf Stream's path and its related branches The average number of days per year with precipitation The average amount of sunshine yearly (hours). The climate of western Europe is strongly conditioned by the Gulf Stream, which keeps mild air (for the latitude) over Northwestern Europe in the winter months, especially in Ireland, the United Kingdom and coastal Norway.
The Arctic portions of Europe, particularly in Russia and Norway, also experience polar climates. Mountainous regions, such as the Alps and the Carpathians, exhibit alpine climates, with temperature and precipitation patterns that vary with altitude. Higher elevations generally experience cooler temperatures and greater precipitation, often in ...