Feb 28 (Reuters) - International Polar Year starts on March 1, a drive by more than 60 nations to study the icy ends of the earth amid threats such as global warming and pollution.

Following are facts about International Polar Year:

-- It will involve 50,000 people in 228 projects ranging from studies of thawing ice in Greenland, the speed of ocean currents or the health of indigenous peoples, polar bears or penguins.

-- Scientists say that a fast warming of the Arctic widely linked to global warming may be a portent of changes elsewhere. Arctic temperatures are rising twice as fast as the world average, apparently because darker water or ground, once exposed, soaks up far more heat than ice or snow.

-- The world has had polar years before, in 1882-83, 1932-33 and 1957-58. This will be the first when global warming, blamed by almost all scientists on human use of fossil fuels, may be bringing change to the Arctic and Antarctic.

-- The "year" will actually last two years until 2009. Polar research often requires two seasons, for instance to set up measuring equipment in Antarctica in summer, leave to avoid the chill, dark winter and then return a year later to retrieve gear.

-- Nations will spend about $1.5 billion on research during the International Polar Year.

-- According to some scientific projections, ice in the Arctic Ocean may disappear in summers by 2100, threatening the hunting livelihoods of indigenous people and pushing polar bears towards extinction. It might also open new sea routes and areas for oil and gas drilling. Antarctica may be more resistant to warming, with its vast icy bulk acting as a deep freeze.

-- International Polar Year will be run by the International Council for Science, a non-governmental organisation grouping national and international scientific bodies, and the U.N.'s World Meteorological Organization.

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