The Short Answer: Both the Arctic (North Pole) and the Antarctic (South Pole) are cold because they don’t get any direct sunlight. However, the South Pole is a lot colder than the North Pole.

Really cold, or really, really cold?

Both the Arctic (North Pole) and the Antarctic (South Pole) are cold because they don’t get any direct sunlight. The Sun is always low on the horizon, even in the middle of summer. In winter, the Sun is so far below the horizon that it doesn’t come up at all for months at a time. So the days are just like the nights—cold and dark.

Even though the North Pole and South Pole are “polar opposites,” they both get the same amount of sunlight. But the South Pole is a lot colder than the North Pole. Why? Well, the Poles are polar opposites in other ways too.

The Arctic is ocean surrounded by land. The Antarctic is land surrounded by ocean.

The ocean under the Arctic ice is cold, but still warmer than the ice! So the ocean warms the air a bit.

Antarctica is dry—and high. Under the ice and snow is land, not ocean. And it’s got mountains. The average elevation of Antarctica is about 7,500 feet (2.3 km). And the higher you go, the colder it gets.