According to a report by the Russian Satellite Network on May 5, a new report issued by the Arctic Council's Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Program (AMAP) working group stated that the Arctic is melting rapidly and may be completely ice-free by 2040. At the same time, a study by the University of Leeds in the United Kingdom found that in Antarctica, the melting rate of ice is about one-third of the expected value.

　　Why does the Arctic ice and snow melt so fast, while the Antarctic ice and snow melt so slowly? According to reports, the cause of this problem is more complicated. On the surface, there are many similarities between the North Pole and the South Pole: Both are severely cold, sparsely populated, and snow-covered wastelands located on two levels of the earth. But there are also fundamental differences: the Arctic is an ocean surrounded by land (such as the northern regions of Alaska, Canada, and Russia), while the Antarctic is a land surrounded by oceans. It is believed that the Arctic is essentially a huge block of ice in the Arctic Ocean, while Antarctica is a land covered by ice and snow.

The report stated, “In essence, within Antarctica, the two major effects of global warming can be offset by each other. The sea ice melting rate at both poles is accelerating (the amount of sea ice in both reached a record low in February). ), but the snowfall in Antarctica has caused ice sheets to form in some areas."

　　Climatologists point out that the increase in snowfall is another side effect of climate warming. One consequence of global warming is an increase in ocean evaporation, because the heat of the ocean sends water vapor into the atmosphere. As the moisture in the atmosphere increases, the amount of rainfall and snowfall will increase accordingly.

　　 In the past, snowfall in Antarctica was very rare, but continental warming led to more frequent snowfall in Antarctica. In contrast, however, the amount of ice in the Arctic has been steadily declining since the beginning of the 21st century.

　　 To put it simply, because the air in the Arctic is very cold, only less water vapor can enter the atmosphere. This means that there is very little material that can form snow in the Arctic, which makes snow sparse.

　　The Antarctic region has its own wind and ocean currents, which are isolated from the trend of global warming, while the wind and ocean in the Atlantic Ocean have a greater impact on the Arctic Ocean.