Antarctic ozone hole one of largest in recent years, scientists reveal

The hole in the ozone layer over Antarctica is one of the largest and deepest in recent years, academics have said.

Scientists from the EU’s Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS) say the hole which forms each year over the South Pole has reached its maximum size for 2020 and is one of the biggest in recent years.

The return of a large hole after an “unusually small and short- lived” ozone hole in 2019 shows the need to continue enforcing the global Montreal Protocol, which banned chemicals such as CFCs that deplete ozone, experts said.

The stratospheric ozone layer acts as a shield, protecting from potential harmful ultraviolet radiation, but substances created by humans have caused an annual thinning in the layer, known as the ozone hole.

These chlorine and

brom ine-conta in ing substances accumulate within the polar vortex – an area of low pressure in the region – where temperatures can fall to minus 78C and below.

These substances cause the forma t ion o f stratospheric clouds, leading to chemical reactions that deplete ozone.

As the sun rises over the pole after the winter darkness, the sun’s energy releases chemically-active

chlorine and bromine atoms in the vortex which rapidly destroy ozone molecules, causing the hole to form.

CAMS is run by the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) on behalf of the European Commission and uses computer models of the atmosphere combined with satellite data and in- situ monitoring to assess the state of the ozone layer.

The ozone layer protects the planet from radiation.