Polar climate

Areas of polar climate according to the Köppen climate classification:
  Tundra climate (ET)
  Ice cap climate (EF)
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 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 (could last for the entirety of each season or longer). A polar climate consists of cool summers and very cold winters (or, in the case of ice cap climates, no real summer at all), which results in treeless tundra, glaciers, or a permanent or semi-permanent layer of ice. It is identified with the letter E in the Köppen climate classification.

  1. ^ Yung, Chung-hoi. "Why is the equator very hot and the poles very cold?". Hong Kong Observatory. Archived from the original on 2018-06-14. Retrieved 2010-12-02.