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actual, geographical North Pole
can be found in the centre of the Arctic region, at the far north of our
planet. The North Pole consists of sea ice -- massive areas of ice floating in the Arctic Ocean.
But the term "North Pole" is also used to describe the broader Arctic region. This extends into Greenland, Iceland, Alaska, Russia, Scandinavia and Canada. Here the land is covered with vast treeless plains, known as tundra, where the subsoil is permanently frozen and little vegetation survives. One of the most spectacular sights on Earth can be seen from this region -- the Aurora Borealis, or Northern Lights. These beautiful coloured gases glow across the dark Arctic skies during winter. The Arctic is one of the last major wildernesses on Earth. Life here is hard but the region supports a huge number of different animal species, many of which are found nowhere else. The polar bear is perhaps the most famous of the Arctic animals. Polar bears spend their time on the ice or in the water, hunting for seal and fish. They dig dens in the snow, where they hibernate during the worst part of the winter. Other Arctic animals include the arctic hare, the arctic fox, tundra wolf and the walrus. There are also beluga whales and narwhal whales living in the Arctic Ocean. Global warming has already begun to affect the Arctic and the animals that live there. Each summer the sea ice, upon which the polar bear lives, breeds and hunts, breaks up more and more. As the ice thins and reduces in size the polar bear has to swim much further between its feeding and mating grounds. A swim of 10 to 15 miles is no problem for a fit and healthy polar bear. But increasingly these creatures are having to swim distances of up to 50 miles, which can be exhausting. Scientists once believed that global warming could cause the Arctic to be ice free in summer by 2070. But it is becoming clear that we have under-estimated the speed of change. There are now real fears that unless we act to tackle climate change the ice could be gone in a decade. In 2007 more ice melted at the North Pole than in any other year. Ice free summers at the North Pole could mean that animals like the polar bear and the walrus face extinction.
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