Impacts of climate extremes over Arctic and Antarctic

Both northern (Arctic) and southern (Antarctic) polar regions on earth have similar terrestrial and marine landscapes (e.g., ice, snow, darkness through half of the year, and organisms adapted to such very extreme climate conditions), but are fundamentally different in their geography, ice formation history, and conquest by humankind. With a very limited supply of solar radiation, the Arctic and Antarctic play a critical role in the distribution of heat on our planter by attracting warm air flows and ocean currents from the tropical regions, cooling them down and sending them back to the equator. However, global warming and climate change have significantly influenced these two polar regions. The Arctic is gradually losing its original polar character. All the Antarctic Peninsula, West Antarctica, and East Antarctica are also responding to the warmer air and sea surface temperatures around the world. Hence, this chapter aims at describing the new face of both Arctic and Antarctic regions in response to global warming and climate change.