Temperature, cold and hot places

Near the poles sunlight hits the Earth at a slant, so those places are always cold. The area around the North Pole is the Arctic: it is the Arctic Ocean and the pieces of land around it. In the south lies the continent of Antarctica, covered with thick ice and the coldest place on Earth. In the Arctic live polar bears, reindeer, walruses and seals. They have a thick layer of fat under the skin and warm fur. Penguins live in Antarctica and on some cold shores of the Southern Hemisphere; they are flightless birds with wings like flippers, swim fast in water and waddle on land. There are no penguins in the Arctic. Polar researchers live in special stations; the houses are painted bright colours so they can be found in a storm.