India post issued two commemorative Postage Stamps along with one Miniature Sheet carrying the message to save Polar Regions is contributing to the effort to sensitise people to leave the Earth a better place for future generations.
Earth’s Polar Regions, also known as Frigid Zones, at the (North Pole and South Pole,) are dominated by the polar ice caps, resting respectively on the Arctic Ocean and the continent of Antarctica.
Polar regions receive less intense solar radiation than the other parts of Earth because the sun's energy arrives at an oblique angle, spreading over a larger area, and also travels a longer distance through the Earth's atmosphere in which it may be absorbed, scattered or reflected, which is the same thing that causes winters to be colder than the rest of the year in temperate areas.
Polar weather influences climates in areas as far away as the tropics and changes will have effects across the world. Polar sea ice is currently diminishing, possibly as a result of anthropogenic Global warming. Some scientists have estimated that the Arctic basin will experience ice-free summers by 2040 or even sooner, as the ice serves as a moderator of the planets climate, in part by deflecting heat radiation back into space. The breaking down of ice in the polar regions has resulted in an increase in temperature by 2.5 degree Celsius over the past 50 years.
Decline in ice and snow in both the Polar regions is affecting human livelihood as well as local plant and animal life in the Arctic as well as global atmospheric circulation and sea level. Climate change affects various factors of the habitat of animals adapted to live in really extreme conditions and put population at risk.
Several species of living things call the Polar regions their home from tiny lichens encrusting the rocky landscapes of the Arctic tundrato huge blue whales swimming through the frigid water of the southern Ocean. Some animals are only part time residents, migrating to warmer, lower latitudes during the winter months.
Polar bears, penguins, seals, whales and walrus are just a few of the species living in these very cold regions. They are specially adapted to survive the extreme cold of the Polar regions.
The Emperor penguins the world largest penguins could be pushed to the brink of extinction by the end of this century due to the melting of Antarctic Sea ice caused by global climate change. Similarly Polar bears in the Arctic, the largest bear species, also rely heavily on sea ice. “No man is an island” – said the poet. And today this stands as a scientific reality before us, proved by the interconnectivity of human life across the globe with all animal and plant species, the earth, the climate and the air around us. It is essential that the delicate balance of ecology be understood and maintained with a sense of commitment and responsibility.
Other planets and natural satellites in the solar system have interesting quirks about their polar regions. Earth's Moon is thought to contain substantial deposits of ice in deep craters in its polar regions, which never see direct sunlight. Mars, like Earth, has polar ice caps. Meanwhile, on Uranus, the extreme tilt of the planet's axis leads to the poles alternately pointing almost directly at the Sun.
Issued Date : 19.12.2009
Denomination : 500 + 500 Paisa
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