# Why is the South Pole colder than the North Pole? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 16, 2003, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-south-pole-colder-than-the-north-pole/148875 "2003-01-16T01:23:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![KenP](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/c0e974/32.png) [@KenP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KenP)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2003, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-south-pole-colder-than-the-north-pole/148875/1 "2003-01-16T01:23:36Z")
I was just watching a show on PBS, which mentioned someone who was “the first to figure out why the SP was colder than the NP,” but the reason wasn’t given. So, why is the South Pole colder? ---
**Author:** ![Wearia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/13edae/32.png) [@Wearia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wearia)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2003, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-south-pole-colder-than-the-north-pole/148875/2 "2003-01-16T01:24:50Z")
Heat rises. ---
**Author:** ![bernse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a9a28c/32.png) [@bernse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bernse)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2003, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-south-pole-colder-than-the-north-pole/148875/3 "2003-01-16T01:26:26Z")
WAG: The south pole is in the middle of a massive continent. The North Pole is surronded by water (and is indeed in the middle of an ocean). Even though the pole area is frozen (all the time, I do believe), I would think it is warmer just from the water. ---
**Author:** ![x-ray\_vision](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/x-ray_vision/32/351_2.png) [@x-ray\_vision](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/x-ray_vision)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2003, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-south-pole-colder-than-the-north-pole/148875/4 "2003-01-16T01:34:06Z")
check [this](http://www.glacier.rice.edu/weather/3_northsouthpole.html) out ---
**Author:** ![Scruloose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e68b1a/32.png) [@Scruloose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scruloose)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2003, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-south-pole-colder-than-the-north-pole/148875/5 "2003-01-16T01:34:30Z")
Until someone comes along who knows what I’m talking about… I believe that during the southern hemisphere’s winter, the earth is at it’s greatest distance from the sun and the southern hemisphere is tilted away from the sun. If that’s true, then it would stand to reason that the south pole is colder. ---
**Author:** ![scr4](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/59ef9b/32.png) [@scr4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scr4)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2003, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-south-pole-colder-than-the-north-pole/148875/6 "2003-01-16T01:43:33Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by bernse \* > **Even though the pole area is frozen (all the time, I do believe)…** Only the surface is frozen. The _Nautilus_ (first nuclear submarine) travelled under the ice and reached the North Pole. And apparently the ice can be fairly thin; the Soviet nuclear-powered icebreaker _Arktika_ reached the North Pole in 1977. ---
**Author:** ![jack\_ss](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c77e96/32.png) [@jack\_ss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jack_ss)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2003, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-south-pole-colder-than-the-north-pole/148875/7 "2003-01-16T01:50:20Z")
[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/888235.stm](http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/888235.stm) > [@](#): > > An American scientist says a large expanse of ice-free water has opened up at the North Pole this year. > Dr James McCarthy, an oceanographer, says he found a mile-wide (1.6 km) stretch of open ocean on a recent trip to the region. > [@](#): > > Another scientist on the cruise, palaeontologist Dr Malcolm C McKenna, said the ship was able to sail all the way to the North Pole through only a thin crust of ice, and arrived on the spot to discover no ice at all. So, apparently it’s getting warmer up there. ---
**Author:** ![buzzz\_kill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/439d5e/32.png) [@buzzz\_kill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/buzzz_kill)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2003, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-south-pole-colder-than-the-north-pole/148875/8 "2003-01-16T02:04:46Z")
AXIS OF EVIL!! ---
**Author:** ![Hrdygrdymn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/77aa72/32.png) [@Hrdygrdymn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hrdygrdymn)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2003, 3:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-south-pole-colder-than-the-north-pole/148875/9 "2003-01-16T03:45:22Z")
There are a number of reasons, some alluded to already. First, the aphelion (earth farthest from the sun) occurs in late June. So the Southern hemisphere actually receives slightly more solar radiation in its summer than does the north and slightly less during its winter. This difference in distance is fairly insignificant, however when it comes to affecting temp. One major reason the N. Pole is warmer has to do with the fact that (relatively) warmer water currents carry heat closer to it, including under it as mentioned above. The albedo (whiteness) effect makes little difference. Though the S. Pole is on a continent, the dark rock is pretty well covered by reflective white snow. The N. Pole in nearer to water which has a lower albedo, but the angle of the sun at those latitudes causes almost all light to reflect off water into space. The bulk of the earth’s dark land masses are, however in the N. hemisphere, creating weather patterns which favor warmer air circulation over the N. pole. The main reason? Altitude. The N. pole is pretty well at sea level, while the Antarctic is a mountainous continent. ---
**Author:** ![dp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ecd19e/32.png) [@dp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dp)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2003, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-south-pole-colder-than-the-north-pole/148875/10 "2003-01-16T03:47:07Z")
WAG, one reason might be the south pole is at a higher altitude