climate of the polar environment
The polar region never receives direct sunlight, due to the axial tilt, but instead gets rays indirectly and this means less solar radiation. This lack of solar radiation means that the Arctic region temperatures generally range between -10°C and -30°C. While at antarctic they range between -30°C and -70°C. In the winter, the Arctic region and Antarctica has 24 hours of darkness because the high latitudes such as the Arctic are turned away from the sun at this time of year. By contrast in the summer the region receives 24 hours of sunlight because the Earth is tilted toward the sun. Precipitation in Antarctica varies from around 5mm in the center of Antarctica to 600mm on the shore. Similarly, precipitation in the Arctic is varied, ranging from 25mm to in excess of 1000mm close to the shore. Precipitation is found almost exclusively in the form of snow, however, rain can occur when warm air is transported into the region.