Although most
would consider the two poles to be more or less the same, the Antarctic
is very much colder than the Arctic. This is due to a couple of reasons,
the first being that there is eight times more ice in the Antarctic than
in the Arctic. This is because the latter is mostly an ocean, and water
retains heat better and has the maritime effect of temperature moderation.
Also, land reflects radiation better than water, and with Antarctica’s
permanent snow cover reflecting nearly 80 percent of the incoming radiation
, Antarctica is unable to retain as much heat as the Arctic, making it
colder