The hole in the ozone layer over Antarctica is one of the largest and deepest in the last 15 years , according to the World Meteorological Organization (WMO). It usually begins to grow in August and peaks in October, but this year it peaked at 24 million square kilometers and is now 23 million square kilometers, which means the hole is larger than average last decade and spans most of Antarctica.
“With sunlight returning to the South Pole in recent weeks, we saw continued ozone depletion in the area. After the unusually small and short-lived ozone hole in 2019, which was driven by special weather conditions, we are recording a quite large increase once again this year , which confirms that we must continue to apply the Montreal Protocol that prohibits the emissions of chemicals that deplete the ozone layer, “as clarified Vincent-Henri Peuch, director of the Monitoring Service of the Atmosphere Copernicus (CAMS) from the EU in ECMWF.
Is it something negative?
It is not necessarily a symptom of the climate evolution or climate emergency our planet is facing. The great ozone hole has been driven by a strong cold polar vortex and will not be a permanent state. It tends to naturally fluctuate in size each year, peaking between mid-September and mid-October, as we have discussed, and is likely to return to normal later this year.
“There is great variability in the extent to which ozone hole events develop each year. The ozone hole of 2020 looks like the one in 2018, which was also quite a large hole, and it is definitely at the top of the pack of the last fifteen years or so, ”continues Peuch.
So no, the big gap this year would not be driven by polluting gases but by climate issues.
Ozone depletion is directly related to the temperature in the stratosphere, which is the layer of the atmosphere located between about 10 km and about 50 km in altitude. This is because polar stratospheric clouds, which play an important role in the chemical destruction of ozone, only form at temperatures below -78 ° C. It is precisely the ozone layer that protects the Earth and humans from the sun’s ultraviolet rays. It acts as a shield for our plant, absorbing much of the sun’s harmful ultraviolet rays.
Concern about the hole in the ozone layer became one of the biggest environmental concerns of recent times when a team of scientists discovered a hole in the layer over the South Pole in the 1970s and 1980s . The cape was being worn away by man-made chemicals such as refrigerants or solvents. The world acted quickly and efficiently.
Fortunately, thanks to the Montreal Protocol, a global agreement was reached to protect the ozone layer by phasing out substances that deplete the ozone layer. So far, it is the only UN treaty that has been ratified by all member states.
Referencia: World Meteorological Organization (WMO).
