Stunning pictures of global warming from the BBC documentary

It has already captivated millions, taking viewers on a spectacular polar expedition to the frozen wildernesses of the Arctic and the Antarctic.

And now the makers of the landmark BBC series Frozen Planet, bringing the natural world of the North and South Poles to the small screen, has given a tantalising glimpse of things to come with these stunning images from future episodes.

These incredible stills from the series reveal the frozen world as you have never seen it before - and may never see again, thanks to the onset of global warming.

Coming up for air: This stunning image shows a pod of fish-eating K*ller whales spyhopping among the breaking sea ice in Antarctica

Narrated by Sir David Attenborough, the series explores the effects of  slimate change on the polar regions - and the lengths scientists are going to understand it.

The next episode in the seven-part series is to be screened on BBC 1 next Wednesday, November 2, at 9pm.

Cracked surface: The largest ice cap in the Eurasian Arctic - Austfonna in Svalbard - is 150 miles long with a thousand waterfalls in the summer

Not alone: Cameraman Mark Smith (left) with just the penguins for company while a this polar bear looks ready for action as she prepares to launch herself from the ice .

Bear hug: A mother nurses her two cubs, caught on camera in a stunning aerial shot. Her milk reserves are running low as she has not eaten for five months whilst in the den.

Awesome spectacle: Bones break and tonnes of blubber slam into each other as two male elephant seals fight amidst a beach of king penguins

Hitching a ride: Adélie penguins on an iceberg surrounded by masses of floating ice, in western Antarctica (left), while the sky over the Arctic peninsula turns a deep shade of pink as the sun sets on another day .

On reflection: A stunning scene shows penguins standing at the shore against a dramatic mountainous landscape, their images mirrored in the water.

Lone wolf: A rare Arctic species on Ellesmere Island in Canada. These wolves are extremely remote and unused to humans (left), while an elephant sea flicks wet sand on to its back (right) to keep cool as king penguins on the shore in South Georgia look on

Close encounter: Filming killer whales from a boat in the Antarctic Peninsula. Some orcas are mammal hunters - they kill seals by working as a team to generate large waves that wash them off ice floes.

Intrepid: Frozen Planet presenter Sir David Attenborough at the North Pole (left) while two bears test their strength during the autumn in Hudson Bay, Canada (right)

Lonely landscape: The first sunrise of the year in the High Arctic archipelago of Svalbard is on February 15 or 16, after being beneath the horizon for several months.

Breaking free: A frozen Arctic river flows after six months locked in ice. The immense release of freshwater from the Arctic's waterways into the Arctic Ocean triggers the annual sea ice melt and fuels the mass migration of fish, birds and whales.

Showing them the way: A polar bear leads her cubs across the desolate landscape, perhaps in search of food .

I spy: A group of penguins appear to be startled by the sudden emergence of an orca spyhopping through the broken ice.

A nest built for two: A male Adélie penguin puts the stones in place and prepares for some female company (left) while the fur flies between these two bull seals as they battle it out for mating rights on the beach.

Leap of faith: Cubs jumping into the water as the pack ice breaks up in the summer. Polar bears are actually marine mammals and are completely at home in the water as adults.

Solitary swimmer: A polar bear gliding through the water in front of the Austfonna ice cap in Svalbard. Polar bears can swim for 60 miles in a day.

Deep freeze: The melting ice forms elegant ice sculptures which float across a glacial fjord in Svalbard.

Gliding over the waves: A black-browed albatross off the coast of South Georgia (left) while a grey wolf pup (right) sticks close to mum on Ellesmere Island, Canada.  

Caught in the act: Adélie penguins - a species common along the Antarctic coast - collect stones for their nests. Thieves try to steal them, but this one has been rumbled.

Outnumbered: Cameraman Mark Smith is surrounded by penguins as he films in harsh weather conditions. Frequent snow storms and winds of up to 150mph kept film crews on their toes throughout their four months working alone at Cape Crozier, Antarctica.

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