Polar high

The polar highs are areas of high atmospheric pressure around the north and south poles, south polar high being the stronger one because land gains and loses heat more effectively than sea. The cold temperatures in the polar regions cause air to descend to create the high pressure (a process called subsidence), just as the warm temperatures around the equator cause air to rise to create the low pressure doldrums. Closely related to this concept is the polar vortex.

Surface temperatures under the polar highs are the coldest on Earth, with no month having an average temperature of above freezing. Regions under the polar high also experience very low levels of precipitation, which leads them to be known as "polar deserts".

Air flows outwards from the poles to create the polar easterlies in the arctic and antarctic areas.

Cyclones and Anticyclones of the world

Types	Extratropical – Meso-scale – Polar – Subtropical cyclone/Subtropical ridge – Tropical

Annual anticyclones	Polar high – Siberian High – Azores High (Bermuda/North Atlantic) – North American High (Canadian/Greenland) – South Atlantic High (St.Helena) – North Pacific High – South Pacific High – Scandinavian High – Mascarene High (Indian) – Australian High – Antarctic High

Annual cyclones	Aleutian low (Alaska/Far East Russia) – Icelandic Low – Kona low (Hawaii) – Polar low