Name at least three features of the climate of the Arctic and Antarctic. Explain how they affect other components

Name at least three features of the climate of the Arctic and Antarctic. Explain how they affect other components of the nature of these areas of the Earth.

Almost the entire territory of Antarctica is located in the Antarctic climate zone, which makes the climate of the continent extremely harsh. Due to the extremely cold weather, there is no permanent population in the mainland. Over 99% of the continent’s surface is covered with ice and a layer of snow. The height of the glaciers increases from the coast to the center of the continent. The greatest thickness of ice is on the territory of East Antarctica and can reach five kilometers. The ice-free surface has an extremely small total area and represents oases, mountain ranges or nunataki (ridges, mountain peaks). Interestingly, Antarctica receives a fairly large amount of solar radiation annually. This amount is comparable to the amount of heat received from the sun near the equator. However, about 90% of all solar energy received is reflected by snow and, thus, only a tenth of the solar heat is used to heat the air and the surface of the mainland