Ozone closure

It seems serendipitous that the largest ever ozone hole has finally closed during a period where industries have halted and global emissions may fall to their lowest in a decade. Having spent its time hovering over the Arctic for almost a month, the hole – which was three times the size of Greenland – closed back in late April of this year. This kind of hole is often seen opening annually, although it’s rarer at the North Pole compared to the South. Human-made pollution from industrial chemical pollutants is one reason why these holes open in the atmospheric layer that helps prevent harmful ultraviolet light from reaching Earth’s surface. However, there is no known link between lockdown and the hole closing, with scientists saying that the closure is merely a natural correction by a strong polar vortex - it is unrelated to the COVID-19 pandemic.