ee.1.1 Global distribution of extreme environments

News article

Record winter temperatures in Antarctic raise fears over speed of climate breakdown

Temperatures above 15C ‘very strange’ say scientists, as snow melts and rain falls on glaciers in usually frozen region

The Guardian · 10 June 2026

Key terms

• Glacial areas
  • Areas with and influenced by glaciers.

• High altitude
  • Areas are often considered "high-altitude" if they reach at least 2,400 metres (8,000 feet) into the atmosphere.

• Hot deserts
  • Have less than 250mm precipitation per year and daytime temperatures that may approach 50°C. Cover 14.2% of the Earth’s surface, their distribution largely determined by the global atmospheric circulation.

• Human habitation
  • The use of a structure for living for any period of time for activities such as sleeping, eating or cooking, or combinations thereof.

• Inaccessibility
  • Difficult to reach or get to.

• Periglacial environment
  • The effects of freezing and thawing drastically modify the ground surface. In a cold climate, typically near glacierised regions. Perennially frozen ground that seasonally-thaws (active layer). The ground is snow free for part of the year with frequent fluctuations of air temperature across 0°C.

• Polar
  • The regions of the planet that surround its geographical poles (the North and South Poles), 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. The Arctic has various definitions, including the region north of the Arctic Circle, or just the region north of 60° north latitude, or the region from the North Pole south to the timberline. The Antarctic is usually defined simply as south of 60° south latitude, or the continent of Antarctica.

• Remoteness
  • Distant from main centres of population.

• Resource development
  • The development of natural resources effectively and efficiently without harming the environment or human existence.

• Semi-arid
  • Receive 25 to 50 centimetres of rain per year.