polar region
regions around the Earth's geographical poles
AI overview
A polar region is the area around either the North Pole or South Pole of the Earth. These regions matter because they influence global weather patterns, contain unique ecosystems, and play an important role in regulating the planet's climate.
AI-generated from the Wikipedia summary — may contain errors.
Article
Visualization of the ice and snow covering Earth's northern and southern polar regions Northern Hemisphere permafrost (permanently frozen ground) in purple
The polar regions, also called the frigid zones or polar zones, of Earth are Earth's polar ice caps, the regions of the planet that surround its geographical poles (the North Pole and the South Pole), lying within the polar circles. These high latitudes are dominated by floating sea ice covering much of the Arctic Ocean in the north, and by the Antarctic ice sheet on the continent of Antarctica and the Southern Ocean in the south.