Recently, European scientists announced that the hole in the ozone layer over Antarctica reached a record size in September. The gap in this critical protective layer in the atmospheregrew to more than 26,000,000 square kilometers in size by mid-September – more than 2.5 times the size of Canada.
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The thickness of the Earth's ozone layer is subject to natural fluctuations over the seasons, although the reduction observed this year, which almost reached historical lows, is likely due to a combination of several factors.
The stratospheric ozone layer, which forms between about 20 and 40 kilometers above the surface, naturally waxes and wanes over Antarctica as the seasons change. Colder temperatures allow ozone levels to decrease in winter and early spring, leading to the lowest extent of Antarctic ice in September and October.
The “holes” in the ozone layer are not literally holes without ozone. The gas is still present in these relatively empty spaces, but in concentrations so low that ozone levels are significantly below normal. Data collected by satellites from the Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS) have revealed unusual behavior in the ozone layer since last August.
At the end of August, the European Organization announced that the thinning of the atmosphere began much earlier and much faster than usual, as the winter was drawing to a close. The conditions allowed the ozone hole over Antarctica to continue to grow rapidly as September approached, reaching a record area of more than 26 million square kilometers by the middle of the month.
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For comparison, Canada is the second largest country in the world, with a total area of 10 million square kilometers, making this hole about 2.6 times larger than the entire country.
The ozone layer (particularly in Antarctica) dominated public environmental consciousness in the 1970s and 1980s, as scientists called on companies and countries to limit the use of ozone-depleting substances such as chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), a chemical compound often used in refrigeration and aerosol sprays. Studies concluded that these substances led to rapid degradation of this critical atmospheric element, potentially causing significant impacts on plant and animal health.
Global efforts to ban CFCs culminated in the 1987 Montreal Protocol, a landmark agreement on the use of these dangerous chemicals that was unanimously adopted by all participating countries at the UN.
Ozone is a naturally occurring gas that is created when the Sun's ultraviolet rays react with O₂, molecular oxygen, adding an extra oxygen atom to this vital compound to convert it into O₃, high-change ozone gas.
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A thick layer of ozone, located more than ten kilometers above the Earth's surface, absorbs most of the Sun's harmful ultraviolet radiation before it reaches the ground. This protection provides many benefits to humans, helping them avoid health effects such as skin cancer and cataracts, and also helps plants avoid developing deadly diseases.
