Which colder north or south pole

The coldest temperature ever recorded, anywhere on the planet, was Located 11, feet above sea level, Vostok is higher than the South Pole, and colder on average, at Jaime McLeod is a longtime journalist who has written for a wide variety of newspapers, magazines, and websites, including MTV. She enjoys the outdoors, growing and eating organic food, and is interested in all aspects of natural wellness.

Moon Phase Calendar. Email Facebook Pinterest Twitter. About the author Related Posts. Jaime McLeod. Temperature readings at the South Pole are usually much colder than those at the North Pole. The climate at the South Pole is about 65 degrees colder than at the North Pole. Average temperatures at the South Pole are minus 25 in summer and minus 90 in winter. At the North Pole, the readings are 32 in summer and minus 30 in winter. Both poles receive the same amount of heat from sunlight, but their geography is vastly different in two important ways.

The North Pole sits as sea level, whereas the South Pole, in the interior of Antarctica, is at 9, feet.

Both polar regions of the earth are cold, primarily because they receive far less solar radiation than the tropics and mid-latitudes do.

At either pole the sun never rises more than Moreover, most of the sunlight that does shine on the polar regions is reflected by the bright white surface. What makes the South Pole so much colder than the North Pole is that it sits on top of a very thick ice sheet, which itself sits on a continent. The surface of the ice sheet at the South Pole is more than 9, feet in elevation--more than a mile and a half above sea level. Antarctica is by far the highest continent on the earth. In comparison, the North Pole rests in the middle of the Arctic Ocean, where the surface of floating ice rides only a foot or so above the surrounding sea.

The Arctic Ocean also acts as an effective heat reservoir, warming the cold atmosphere in the winter and drawing heat from the atmosphere in the summer.