Generalitat of Catalonia

The Polar Regions and Global Warming

Despite their remote position, the changes taking place in the Antarctic and the Arctic are of paramount importance for the rest of the planet, especially in a situation of a global warming such as exists today. The Polar Regions have experienced great changes over recent years and some areas of these regions are among those which have experienced the worst results of global warming in the world. The processes taking place there, such as the retreating of glaciers or the melting of the frozen sea and the permafrost (the permanent icecap on the surface of the earth), have enormous consequences for the polar ecosystems, but also affect far away regions and influence environmental conditions in the rest of the planet.