The climate near the equator is hot and dry, think of the Sahara desert. The climate near the north and south poles is very cold for almost the whole year.
One of the reasons for this is that as the earth orbits the sun the sun's rays are most intense for regions near the equator. Depending on the time of year, the sun's rays can be very weak near the poles, and if you are close enough to the poles there are days in deep winter when the sun does not even rise over the horizon!
