Polar climate
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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).
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[edit] Types of polar climate
There are two distinct types 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.
[edit] Effects
Polar climates result in the absence of trees in such places, which may also be covered with glaciers or a permanent or semi-permanent layer of ice.
[edit] Examples
On Earth, 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.
The northernmost part of the Eurasian land mass, from the extreme northeastern coast of Scandinavia and eastwards to the Bering Strait, large areas of northern Siberia and Northern Iceland have tundra climate as well. There are large areas in northern Canada and northern Alaska with tundra climate, changing to ice cap climate in the most northern parts of Canada.
In other parts of the world, many mountains have a climate where no month having an average temperature of 10 °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.
[edit] See also
| Climate types under the Köppen climate classification |
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| Class A: Tropical (Af) - Monsoon (Am) - Savanna (Aw, As) |
| Class B: Arid (BWh, BWk) - Semi-arid (BSh, BSk) |
| Class C: Humid subtropical (Cfa, Cwa) - Oceanic (Cfb, Cwb, Cfc) - Mediterranean (Csa, Csb) |
| Class D: Humid continental (Dfa, Dwa, Dfb, Dwb) - Subarctic (Dfc, Dwc, Dfd) - High-altitude Mediterranean (Dsa, Dsb, Dsc) |
| Class E: Polar (ET, EF) - Alpine (ETH) |
