POLES APART

POLES APART

Many are surprised to learn that Antarctica is nearly twice the size of the United States. The name Antarctica was coined to mean “opposite to the Arctic.” The climate of the two areas is very different. Antarctica is the coldest area in the world. On the average it is about 30 degrees colder than Arctic. Antarctica in August 1960 had a temperature of -127 degrees Fahrenheit. it is the world’s record low temperature. The different of climate and temperature in two areas make animals and plants in that area is very different. On Antarctica, there are very few animals and plants, but on Arctic there are many animals and plants. Ice is the great feature of Antarctica. More than 4.5 million square miles of ice sheet cover the area. if this volume of ice were to melt, the volume of the world oceans would increase, and sea level would rise. Extreme atmospheric changes would have to take place for this happen.