Why does Antarctica have such a cold dry climate?

Answer 1

Location, location, location is the answer you want.

Antarctica is polar, lacking sunlight for about half of the year, and the water cycle is seriously interrupted by the ice sheet that covers 98% of the continent.

Answer 2

Anywhere on the Antarctic continent during the winter season, there are no sunrises; your location dictates the number of 24 hour periods where this is true. At the South Pole, for example, there is one sunrise and one sunset per year -- winter being the season without any sunrises.

Katabatic winds howl constantly, based on the rotation of the earth and the elevation of the Polar Plateau -- about two miles thick of ice. The winds flow downhill to sea level all across the continent.

Without any particulate in the air, and the lack of any light pollution, one can learn about a whole (new) hemisphere of stars.

Temperatures range from well below zero -- 50 to 75 degrees, and can fall to below 100 degrees below zero. To these temperatures, one can add the wind child factor.

Antarctica is the most extreme cold weather location on planet Earth, which occurs during the winter months.

Answer 3

There is a lot of snow all year round, with temperatures always below zero. In the winter it is dark all the time, while in summer it is still very cold but light almost all day.