But while the summer half of the year is longer than the winter half in the northern hemisphere, the reverse is the case in the southern hemisphere. There the winter is longer than the summer. Moreover, the winter of the southern hemisphere occurs when the earth is farthest from the sun, which accentuates the disadvantage. It has been thought that the greater quantity of ice about the south pole may be due to this increased length and severity of the southern winter. It is true that the southern summer, although shorter, is hotter than the northern, but while, theoretically, this should restore the balance as a whole, yet it would appear that the short hot summer does not, in fact, suffice to arrest the accumulation of ice.