Tundra Climate Facts

The tundra region is the barren beauty of the earth with an interesting and unique lifecycle, flora and fauna of its own. It is that area on earth where the trees and other forms of vegetation hardly grow due to extremely low temperatures and small seasons that enable growth. These kinds of areas are found near the North Pole and the South Pole, thus there we have the Arctic Tundra and the Antarctic Tundra
! The Alpine tundra is another kind of tundra region which faces the same vegetation problem due to its high altitudes. With summers being pretty short and the sun not being helpful enough to facilitate the growth of vegetation, this region can only afford to support the growth of mosses, lichens, dwarf shrubs and certain grass species. The tundra region is also known for its permafrost soil and is always covered with thick layers of snow. This article provides you with some interesting facts about climatic conditions in the tundra region. Read on to discover more.

Facts About Tundra Climate

• Permafrost is the name given to the soil in the arctic tundra region situated near the North Pole. 25-90 cms of the ground is frozen in this area all through the year which makes it impossible for any vegetation to grow. The only vegetation that one can find here is moss, lichens and grass growing on rocks and barren landscapes.
• This region is mainly inhabited by nomadic tribes consisting of reindeer hunters like ‘Nenets’ and the ‘Nganasan’.
• Tundra regions are also very windy, with winds that blow between 30 to 60 miles per hour.
• Another unique and interesting fact about this region is that it consists of only two climates, the winter and summer. During the summer when the ice melts it does not get absorbed into the ground. This is because it is only the upper layer of permafrost that melts during summer, while the bottom layers are still frozen rock hard.
• The tundra region experiences winter for most parts of the year when it is completely frozen with the average temperature ranging from -28 degree Celsius to -50 degree Celsius!
• Ice that melts during summer months form streams, lakes, marshes and bogs makes the ground soggy. The temperature during the summer months in the region ranges from 3 degrees Celsius to 12 degrees Celsius. The region also experiences some amount of precipitation in the summer months that ranges from 15-25 cm annually. It is during the summer that plants grow in small portions of the land.
• The tundra region is also marked by poor or very low biodiversity with only 1700 varieties of plants and around 48 varieties of land mammals. Reindeer, polar bears, arctic hares, arctic foxes, snowy owls and lemmings form the main animal population in the arctic tundra.
• Another interesting fact about the tundra region is that it is a storehouse of essential natural resources like oil and uranium.

• The Antarctic tundra falls in the south polar regions of the globe. This part of the earth is extremely cold, with no vegetation whatsoever. This region is always covered with ice.
• There are some small areas of rocky soil supporting vegetation in the peripheries of the Antarctic region. There are about 300 varieties of lichens, 700 varieties of aquatic algae and 100 varieties of mosses. The area is also home to certain species of Penguins and Seals.

• The alpine region is that part of the Earth’s surface that is unable to support any vegetation because of high altitudes.