Why does the South Pole never get above freezing?
Really cold, or really, really cold? Both the Arctic (North Pole) and the Antarctic (South Pole) are cold because they don’t get any direct sunlight. The Sun is always low on the horizon, even in the middle of summer. In winter, the Sun is so far below the horizon that it doesn’t come up at all for months at a time.
Why does the snow not melt in Antarctica?
Unlike the arctic, the ice in Antarctica is on a continental shelf, so there is no water beneath it to help melt the ice. Antarctica is the highest continent on Earth, with an average elevation of 8,200ft.
Does the snow ever melt in Antarctica?
Snow rarely melts on most parts of the continent, and, after being compressed, becomes the glacier ice that makes up the ice sheet. Most of Antarctica has an ice-cap climate (Köppen classification EF) with very cold, generally extremely dry weather.
Is the South Pole the coldest place on Earth?
Antarctica is the coldest place on earth. It is also the windiest, driest, and highest continent. The South Pole is not the coldest place in Antarctica. The coldest temperature recorded in Antarctica was -89.6°C at Vostok station in 1983.
How is Antarctica dry if it has ice?
Antarctica is a desert. It does not rain or snow a lot there. When it snows, the snow does not melt and builds up over many years to make large, thick sheets of ice, called ice sheets. Antarctica has no trees or bushes.
Does anyone live in the South Pole?
No-one lives in Antarctica indefinitely in the way that they do in the rest of the world. It has no commercial industries, no towns or cities, no permanent residents. The only “settlements” with longer term residents (who stay for some months or a year, maybe two) are scientific bases.
Who owns the South Pole?
The South Pole is claimed by seven nations: Argentina, Australia, Chile, France, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom. The tent at the right is a replica of the tent used by Roald Amundsen, the first person to reach the South Pole.