Here’s why the South Pole froze over before the North Pole

July 3, 2026 12:07 PM

Here’s why the South Pole froze over before the North Pole

While it once was temperate and lush, Earth's southernmost continent Antarctica froze over about 34 million years ago, covered by an ice sheet that today is up to around 3 miles (5 km) thick. By contrast, the planet's northernmost realm, the Arctic region, did not freeze over for another 25 million years. This polar asymmetry long has puzzled scientists, but researchers now may have solved the mystery. They assessed the Antarctic region's topography and used computational models to reconstruct...

Rapid loss of Antarctic ice may be climate tipping point, scientists say

August 21, 2025 2:37 PM

Rapid loss of Antarctic ice may be climate tipping point, scientists say

Rapid loss of Antarctic sea ice could be a tipping point for the global climate, causing sea level rises, changes to ocean currents and loss of marine life that are impossible to reverse, a scientific study published on Thursday said. The paper in the journal Nature aimed to describe in previously unseen detail the interlocking effects of global warming on the Antarctic, the frozen continent at the planet's South Pole. "Evidence is emerging for rapid, interacting and sometimes self-perpetuatin...