Editing Polar climate (section)

== Locations ==
[[File:Laponie007.jpg|thumb|left|A snowy landscape of [[Inari, Finland|Inari]] located in [[Lapland (Finland)|Lapland]] ([[Finland]])]]
[[File:Ursus maritimus mother with cub.jpg|A [[polar bear]] with cub|right|thumb]]
On Earth, the only continent where the ice cap polar climate is predominant is [[Antarctica]]. All but a few isolated coastal areas on the island of [[Greenland]] also have the ice cap climate. Summits of many high mountains also have ice cap climate due to their high elevation. Coastal regions of Greenland that do not have permanent ice sheets have the less extreme tundra climates. The northernmost part of the [[Eurasia]]n land mass, from the extreme northeastern coast of [[Scandinavia]] and eastwards to the [[Bering Strait]], large areas of northern [[Siberia]] and northern [[Iceland]] have tundra climate as well. Large areas in northern [[Canada]] and northern [[Alaska]] have tundra climate, changing to ice cap climate in the most northern parts of Canada. Southernmost [[Argentina]] ([[Tierra del Fuego]] where it abuts the [[Drake Passage]]) and such subantarctic islands such as the [[South Shetland Islands]] and the [[Falkland Islands]] have [[tundra]] climates of slight [[temperature]] range in which no month is as warm as {{convert|10|C|F}}. These subantarctic lowlands are found closer to the [[equator]] than the coastal tundras of the Arctic basin. Summits of many mountains of [[Earth]] also have polar climates, due to their higher elevations.

===Arctic===
{{Main|Climate of the Arctic}}
[[Image:Arctic big.svg|thumb|upright=1.4|A map of the Arctic. The red line indicates the 10°C [[isotherm (contour line)|isotherm]] in July and the white area shows the average minimum [[Measurement of sea ice#Sea ice extent|extent of sea ice]] in [[summer]] as of 1975.<ref>{{CIA World Factbook|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070613024704/https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/reference_maps/pdf/arctic.pdf}}</ref>]]
Some parts of the Arctic are covered by ice ([[sea ice]], [[glacier|glacial ice]], or [[snow]]) year-round, especially at the most poleward parts; and nearly all parts of the Arctic experience long periods with some form of ice or snow on the surface. Average January temperatures range from about {{convert|−40|to|0|C|F}}, and winter temperatures can drop below {{convert|−50|C|F}} over large parts of the Arctic. Average July temperatures range from about {{convert|−10|to|10|C|F}}, with some land areas occasionally exceeding {{convert|30|C|F}} in summer.

The Arctic consists of an [[Arctic Ocean|ocean]] that is almost surrounded by landmasses like [[Russia]] and [[Canada]]. As such, the [[climate]] of much of the [[Arctic]] is moderated by the ocean water, which can never have a temperature below {{convert|−2|C|F}}. In winter, this relatively warm water, even though covered by the [[Arctic ice pack|polar ice pack]], keeps the [[North Pole]] from being the coldest place in the [[Northern Hemisphere]], and it is also part of the reason that [[Antarctica]] is so much colder than the Arctic. In summer, the presence of the nearby water keeps coastal areas from warming as much as they might otherwise, just as it does in [[temperate]] regions with [[maritime climate]]s.

===Antarctica===
{{Main|Climate of Antarctica}}
The [[climate]] of [[Antarctica]] is the coldest on [[Earth]]. Antarctica has the lowest naturally occurring [[temperature]] ever recorded: {{convert|−89.2|C|F}} at [[Vostok, Antarctica|Vostok Station]] in 1983.<ref name = "ecoworldly coldest">{{cite web|url=http://ecoworldly.com/2008/12/14/the-coldest-inhabited-places-on-earth/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081218000756/http://ecoworldly.com/2008/12/14/the-coldest-inhabited-places-on-earth/ |archive-date=2008-12-18|title=The Coldest Inhabited Places on Earth |publisher=Eco Worldly |date=2008-12-14 |author=Gavin Hudson |access-date=2009-02-08}}</ref> It is also extremely dry (technically a [[desert]], or so called [[polar desert]]), averaging {{convert|166|mm|in}} of [[Precipitation (meteorology)|precipitation]] per year, as [[weather front]]s rarely penetrate far into the continent.

=== Mountains ===
Summits of most mountains also have polar climates, despite being in lower latitudes, due to their high elevations. The highest mountains of the [[Rocky Mountains]], [[Alps]], and the [[Caucasus]] have tundra climate. Some mountains of the [[Andes]], the [[Saint Elias Mountains]], and most mountains of the [[Himalayas]], the [[Karakoram]], the [[Hindu Kush Range]], [[Pamir Mountains]], the [[Tian Shan Mountains]], and the [[Alaska Range]] also have ice cap climates at extremely high elevations, in addition to tundra climates at relatively lower elevations. Only the summit of [[Mount Rainier]] has an ice cap climate in the [[Cascade Range]].{{cn|date=May 2025}}