 In the past few days, we have come across alarming headlines about heatwaves in the Arctic and Antarctica regions. Heatwaves also seem to be sweeping western India with the mercury rising above normal levels. In today's bit, let's try to understand the bizarre hit of heat at both the poles. What has happened? Both the polar regions of the Earth, the Arctic and the Antarctica simmered with unprecedented heatwaves simultaneously with never seen rise in temperature. The Concordia station at Antarctica recorded a temperature of about 10 degrees Fahrenheit which is 70 degrees warmer than the average. Similarly in the Arctic, the temperature was found to be 50 degrees Fahrenheit warmer than the average. What is unusual about this event? Both the polar regions have contrasting seasons with the Arctic starting to melt and the Antarctic beginning to freeze at the same time of the year. Simultaneous high temperatures in both the regions are therefore highly unusual with the experts terming the phenomenon dramatic and alarming. What happened in the Antarctic? The heatwave in the Antarctic was driven by an intense high pressure system located southeast of Australia coupled with an intense low pressure system over the east Antarctic interior. Another reason is the Atmospheric River, a narrow corridor of water vapor that moves through the sky. The Antarctic coast also experienced unusual rainfall. What happened in the Arctic? An intense low pressure system called the Bomb Cyclone formed of the northeast coast of the United States and an Atmospheric River formed at its junction with a high pressure system channeled warm air into the Arctic Circle. Well, is it climate change? Experts say such extreme temperatures cannot be solely attributed to climate change. It could be the cause but it is still too soon to tell. Nonetheless, this is an example of an extreme weather event and these extreme events are exceeding the model projections of global warming. Such events can become more drastic if greenhouse emissions are not reduced. There is also an overall decline in the Arctic sea ice and the Antarctic sea ice hit a record summer low. The Arctic Ocean is absorbing more sunlight than reflecting it due to less ice. This speeds up global warming. The impact. The Arctic has been warming twice or thrice as fast as the rest of the world whereas the Antarctic Peninsula is warming five times faster. The unusual warming in both poles is alarming when artificial climate change does not appear to be under control. The Antarctic sea ice is also expected to be lost as the warming increases. Sea ice levels in the region hit their lowest ever coverage area in the past 43 years. The ice breaking due to warm conditions in the Arctic can negatively impact animals such as polar bears. Melting sea ice also affects the indigenous people in the Arctic by disrupting their livelihood. The rainfall on the Antarctic coast may have affected local mosses but the overall damage to plant life is still unknown. The overall warming also results in drastic weather conditions in the rest of the world. What can be done? A recent study suggests that reducing methane emissions by 2030 combined with net zero CO2 emissions by 2050 could prevent the complete loss of Arctic sea ice by 80%. Human activities causing artificial climate change need to be stalled immediately to avoid the irreversible effect of this unusual warming.