Editing Polar low (section)

{{Short description|Small-scale, short-lived depression over certain ocean areas}}
{{distinguish|text=a [[polar vortex]]}}
{{More references needed|date=November 2024}}
[[File:Sea of Japan polar low 2009-12-20 0213Z.jpg|thumb|A polar low near the island of [[Sakhalin|Sakhalin, Russia]] in December 2009]]
{{Weather}}
A '''polar low''' is a [[Mesoscale meteorology|mesoscale]], short-lived atmospheric [[low pressure area|low pressure system]] (depression) that is found over the ocean areas poleward of the main [[polar front]] in both the Northern and Southern Hemispheres, as well as the [[Sea of Japan]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Moreno-Ibáñez |first1=Marta |last2=Laprise |first2=René |last3=Gachon |first3=Philippe |date=2021-01-01 |title=Recent advances in polar low research: current knowledge, challenges and future perspectives |journal=Tellus A: Dynamic Meteorology and Oceanography |language=en |volume=73 |issue=1 |pages=1–31 |doi=10.1080/16000870.2021.1890412 |s2cid=233807634 |issn=1600-0870|doi-access=free |bibcode=2021TellA..7390412M }}</ref> The systems usually have a horizontal length scale of less than {{convert|1000|km|mi}} and exist for no more than a couple of days.  They are part of the larger class of [[mesoscale meteorology|mesoscale]] weather systems.  Polar lows can be difficult to detect using conventional weather reports and are a hazard to high-latitude operations, such as shipping and gas and [[oil platform]]s.  Polar lows have been referred to by many other terms, such as '''polar mesoscale vortex''', '''Arctic hurricane''', '''Arctic low''', and '''cold air depression'''. Today the term is usually reserved for the more vigorous systems that have near-surface winds of at least 17&nbsp;m/s (38&nbsp;mph).<ref>{{Citation |last1=Rasmussen |first1=E. A. |name-list-style=amp |last2=Turner |first2=J. |year=2003 |title=Polar Lows: Mesoscale Weather Systems in the Polar Regions |publisher=Cambridge University Press |location=Cambridge |page=612 |isbn=0-521-62430-4 }}.</ref>