Dear Tom,
Why is the South Pole so much colder than the North Pole?
Barry Stelk
Dear Barry,
Antarctica is a continent that has much of its elevation rising 8,000-11,000 feet above sea level and has no open water in its interior. Most of the incoming solar radiation is reflected back to space–a result of the highly reflective thick Antarctic ice sheet that covers nearly 98% of the continent and the extremely dry atmosphere. In contrast, the North Pole is located at sea level and is not a land mass, but actually the Arctic Ocean covered by sea ice. The 28 (degrees)F sea water below the ice acts as a heat source moderating temperatures near the surface in areas of open water. On an annual basis the North Pole averages around 0 (degrees)F as compared to nearly -60 (degrees)F at the South Pole. Extreme temperatures range from -76 (degrees)F at the North Pole to -129 (degrees)F (world’s lowest temperature) at the South Pole.
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Tom Skilling is chief meteorologist at WGN-TV. His forecasts can be seen Monday through Friday on WGN-TV News at noon and 9 p.m.
Write to: ASK TOM WHY, 2501 Bradley Pl., Chicago, IL 60618 or asktomwhy@wgntv.com (Mail volume precludes personal response.)
WGN-TV meteorologists Steve Kahn, Richard Koeneman and Paul Dailey plus weather producer Bill Snyder contribute to this page.
