Why do people live in the Arctic and not in Antarctica?

Due to its remote location, inhospitable weather conditions and lack of natural land bridges connecting it to other continents, Antarctica has spent the last 35 million years in relative silence and seclusion. Before its discovery in 1820, no human had ever laid eyes on this icy continent.

Why is the Arctic not as cold as Antarctica?

Both the Arctic (North Pole) and Antarctica (South Pole) are cold because they do not receive any direct sunlight. The Arctic is sea surrounded by land. Antarctica is land surrounded by sea. The sea under the Arctic ice is cold, but still warmer than the ice!

Why is Antarctica much colder than the Arctic?

They keep Antarctica far colder than the Arctic. The Arctic and parts of Antarctica are among the fastest warming places on Earth. They are warming up to five times as fast as the rest of the planet. But because these two regions start at different temperatures, the same amount of heating has very different effects.

Are there any indigenous people in Antarctica?

Unlike the Arctic, there are no indigenous communities based in Antarctica. The people who live here are mostly scientists and technicians engaged in research. The Inupiaq people of Alaska have more than 100 words for different kinds of sea ice, illustrated here.

In Antarctica, the only human inhabitants are scientists and technicians at isolated research stations whose food must be shipped in by boat. Polar bears are threatened by the loss of sea ice in the Arctic. (K. Elliott, NOAA, Hidden Ocean 2005) The symbol of the Arctic is often the polar bear, the pole's cute but fearsome apex predator.

Why is West Antarctica losing so much ice?

As the outer edge of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet recedes inland, toward the deeper center of this bowl, the edges of the ice will become increasingly exposed to deep, warm water. This could cause West Antarctica to lose ice faster over time. Greenland is also losing ice around its edges to sea melting.