The hole in the ozone layer over the Antarctic this year was the smallest and shortest-lived since 2019.
The yearly gap in what scientists call “planetary sunscreen” reached a maximum area of 21 million km2 over the southern hemisphere in September and shrank in size until coming to an early close on Monday, data from the Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (Cams) shows.
It marks the second year in a row of smaller holes in the ozone layer, after a series of larger and longer-lasting holes that appeared between 2020 and 2023.
“The earlier closure and relatively small size of this year’s ozone hole is a reassuring sign,” says Cams director Laurence Rouil.
“[It] reflects the steady year-on-year progress we are now observing in the recovery of the ozone layer thanks to the ozone-depleting substances ban.”
The ozone layer, a stratospheric shield that protects life on Earth from ultraviolet rays, has been worn down by human pollution.
However, since ozone-depleting chemicals were phased out by the 1987 Montreal protocol and a series of amendments that followed, it has begun to recover.
A study last year found the actions had successfully curbed emissions, and led to the heating effects of the gases peaking five years earlier than expected.
The World Meteorological Organisation estimates that the ban will enable a recovery of the ozone layer over the Antarctic, where it is thinnest, to 1980 levels by 2066.
Cams says large holes in recent years showed the decline in global stratospheric ozone could have reached “catastrophic levels” without successful agreements to phase out pollutants.
“This progress should be celebrated as a timely reminder of what can be achieved when the international community works together to address global environmental challenges,” says Rouil.
– The Guardian
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