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Arctic Circle
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Arctic regions Arctic Ocean decline in minimum Arctic sea ice extent Arctic Circle sunlight strikes parts of Earth differently
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Arctic regions
Arctic regions The Arctic regions are centred on the North Pole.

Arctic Circle

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Last Updated: • Article History
The Latest: Vance visits Greenland as Trump presses for a US takeover of the island • Mar. 28, 2025, 7:29 PM ET (AP)
Canada's new leader announces $4.2 billion Australian radar purchase on visit to Arctic Circle • Mar. 18, 2025, 10:49 PM ET (AP)
What makes Greenland a strategic prize at a time of rising tensions? And why now? • Mar. 10, 2025, 9:45 AM ET (AP)
Arctic Ocean
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Arctic Ocean
decline in minimum Arctic sea ice extent
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decline in minimum Arctic sea ice extentRemote sensing has revealed the loss in Arctic sea ice extent since the late 1970s.
Arctic Circle
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Arctic Circle World map with the Arctic Circle marked.

Arctic Circle, parallel, or line of latitude around Earth, at approximately 66°30′ N. Because of Earth’s inclination of about 23 1/2° to the vertical, it marks the southern limit of the area within which, for one day or more each year, the sun does not set (about June 21) or rise (about December 21). The length of continuous day or night increases northward from one day on the Arctic Circle to six months at the North Pole. The Antarctic Circle is the southern counterpart of the Arctic Circle, where on any given date conditions of daylight or darkness are exactly opposite.

The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica This article was most recently revised and updated by Michele Metych.