Did you know that the Earth is tilted at an angle of 24o as it orbits the sun?
Did you also know that areas on the surface of the planet that suffer extreme temperatures, and have very little water available to support life, are known as deserts?
You might be surprised to know that deserts can be cold as well as hot!
The poles of the Earth are places that receive the least energy from the sun, which makes them permanently cold, meaning much of the water there is frozen, and unavailable to living organisms. So, the poles are examples of cold deserts.
Now, you'll know that the equator is an imaginary line running around the circumference of the Earth, dividing it into Northern and Southern Hemispheres. Areas near the equator receive the greatest amount of energy from the sun, and so it is near here that you will find hot deserts.
You cannot have failed to notice the concern over how our planet is warming, year on year, due to a variety of factors, including human's use of fossil fuels as a source of energy. This warming is known as climate change (also known as global warming or the greenhouse effect).
Climate change is contributing to an increase in the rate at which ice at the poles is melting, and glaciers retreating. Many scientists are predicting that if the rate of global warming continues to increase, the rate of the loss of polar ice will also increase, as will the extent of deserts near the equator.
Let's use this activity to find out about how life on our planet adapts to these environmental extremes.
