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The balance between energy absorbed by the earth and energy reflected back into space is fundamental in determining how warm or cool the planet becomes. The proportion of radiation reflected away by a surface is called its albedo. Albedo can range between 0 (no reflectance) and 1 (complete reflectanceâlike a mirror). The earthâs average albedo is .31, which means that, overall, the planet reflects about 31% of incoming solar radiation back into space.
Because of this, the intensity of solar radiation is not as great at the poles. In addition to this, snow and ice blanket much of the north and south poles, where much of the received solar radiation is reflected back into space.