The igloo is a traditional shelter used by people in the polar regions, such as the Arctic and Antarctica. This type of housing is tightly designed to help maintain warmth and protect against the harsh environmental conditions that dominate those regions. In this article, we’ll take a look at how igloos stay warm and the techniques this ancient culture uses to survive in icy areas.

How does an igloo keep warm, even though it is made of snow?

Sure, one day, you saw a scene of an Eskimo wearing heavy clothing, standing next to a hut made of snow. This may seem illogical, but ice houses are still standing and built by Eskimos today. The answer to this question is divided into three basic points.

Eskimo people build their houses out of snow
Despite the extremes of the Arctic environment, the Eskimos have managed to live in this harsh place for thousands of years in complete harmony with their nature. They also prefer never to abandon their homeland, as there are no cities or urban facilities, snow surrounds them, and they face temperatures reaching minus 50 degrees Celsius.

So, for a person in this very cold climate, it is important to have a safe house to live in, and although traditional building materials such as stone, concrete, or wood are not available in these remote areas, the Eskimo people resorted to the closest available material in abundance in their surroundings, which is the snow.

Snow type
For thousands of years, the Eskimo people have built dome-like ice houses, known as igloos, which raises the question of how to maintain warmth inside these houses, even though they are made of ice. Physically, ice can provide warmth and retain body heat. This can be explained by studying the otter, which lives in a cold environment like the Arctic Sea.

The otter does not have thick skin or fatty tissue to protect it from the cold, but it does have thick, soft fur that helps it stay warm. The secret of its heating lies in the composition of its special fur fabric, which allows air molecules to be trapped inside it. Air is an excellent thermal insulator and, therefore, prevents heat from escaping easily from the otter’s body.

Regarding the types of snow, snow can be divided into several types, and the Eskimos have multiple terms to describe the types and conditions of snow. There is a type of ice called hard, dusty ice. This ice consists of 10% frozen water and 90% air. This snow contains a high percentage of air, which acts as an excellent thermal insulator. This type of ice is suitable for construction operations. Firstly because it is solid, and secondly because it contains a large percentage of air that prevents heat from escaping from the inside. So, the igloo works to keep the warmth inside and prevent the heat from escaping through the walls.

Igloo design
The ground of the igloo is not level on the inside. Rather, it is characterized by a gradient in height, and the entrance is very low, followed by a higher level that is used to light a fire and perform activities such as cooking, while the upper level constitutes the sleeping place, and this stepped design of the hut plays an essential role in maintaining the heat of the place.

This depends on the characteristics of the air, as hot air is light and always heads upward, while cold air is heavier and descends downwards. Therefore, any heat present inside the hut, whether from the fire burning inside or from the heat of the residents’ bodies, heads towards the upper area.

In addition, the walls of the hut have thermal insulating properties, meaning that all these factors come together to bring warmth inside the hut. As a result, a moderate temperature of usually between 10 and 15 degrees Celsius is maintained inside the hut, and just when you think this temperature may seem cold You must remember that the temperature outside is usually 50 degrees Celsius below zero.

So, in the end, it can be said that the igloo keeps warm inside thanks to a certain type of hard, dusty snow that acts as a heat insulator, and thanks to the design of the igloo it makes the sitting area warmer, and helps retain heat.

The igloo is a great example of adapting to harsh surroundings and environment and thanks to its innovative design and structure, they can stay warm and safe in one of the world’s harshest environments.