The distance to the sun has nothing to do with it. The poles are cold because of the low *angle* of incoming sunlight. “Daytime” at the poles is like evening or morning everywhere else, with the Sun very low in the sky and its light spread out over wider areas of land (meaning each area of land receives less energy).
This seems to be a common misconception. Temperature of a certain part of earth is not significantly dependent on distance from the sun. The earth varies in its distance from the sun by more than its diameter just by the time of year IIRC. It’s about the angle. Each square unit of ground at the poles receives far less energy from the sun not only because of the oblique angle it hits at, but because there’s more atmosphere to absorb and scatter the sunlight first. (Not that the atmosphere there is thicker, but because the sun has to come in at a flat angle and interacts with more of it.)
Deserts are a little different because their main feature is dryness. But while climate can be a complex topic, suffice to say the hottest deserts are fairly close to the equator where the sunlight is more directly overhead, putting the most energy into a given area.
It’s the angle of the sun’s light that makes the difference. The equator is typically warmer because the sun’s light is more direct. When it hits at an angle, it is spread out over a large area.
Imagine that you have one blob of jam to spread over toast. If the sun is directly overhead, as close to the equator, you are spreading over one piece of toast. But at the poles, the area might be the equivalent to four pieces of toast, and you still only have one blob of jam. Each piece of toast will have less jam compared to spreading it over one piece.
Latest Answers