The Antarctic Ozone Hole Will Recover

Ozone is Earth’s natural sunscreen, shielding life from dangerous solar ultraviolet radiation. Human-produced chemicals in our atmosphere—such as chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), used for many years as refrigerants and in aerosol spray cans—have depleted the Earth’s ozone layer. Scientists first recognized the potential for harmful effects of CFCs on ozone in the early 1970s. In the 1980s, governments around the world woke up to the destruction of the ozone layer and in 1987 negotiated the Montreal Protocol—an international treaty designed to protect the ozone layer by banning CFCs and similar ozone-depleting chemicals. Since the mid-1990s, global ozone levels have become relatively stable. In fact, because of the Montreal Protocol, model simulations suggest the size of the hole should return to its pre-1980 levels by about 2075. Here, the globes show ozone data on the day that the minimum ozone concentration was reached over Antarctica, each year from 1979 and 2022. Data are from ozonewatch.gsfc.nasa.gov Here, the globes show ozone data on the day that the minimum ozone concentration was reached over Antarctica, each year from 1979 and 2022. Related pages

Ozone is Earth’s natural sunscreen, shielding life from dangerous solar ultraviolet radiation. Human-produced chemicals in our atmosphere—such as chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), used for many years as refrigerants and in aerosol spray cans—have depleted the Earth’s ozone layer. Scientists first recognized the potential for harmful effects of CFCs on ozone in the early 1970s. In the 1980s, governments around the world woke up to the destruction of the ozone layer and in 1987 negotiated the Montreal Protocol—an international treaty designed to protect the ozone layer by banning CFCs and similar ozone-depleting chemicals. Since the mid-1990s, global ozone levels have become relatively stable. In fact, because of the Montreal Protocol, model simulations suggest the size of the hole should return to its pre-1980 levels by about 2075. Here, the globes show ozone data on the day that the minimum ozone concentration was reached over Antarctica, each year from 1979 and 2018. Data are from ozonewatch.gsfc.nasa.gov Here, the globes show ozone data on the day that the minimum ozone concentration was reached over Antarctica, each year from 1979 and 2016. Here, the globes show ozone data on the day that the minimum ozone concentration was reached over Antarctica, each year from 1979 and 2016. For More InformationSee [https://ozonewatch.gsfc.nasa.gov](https://ozonewatch.gsfc.nasa.gov) Related pages

Each year for the past few decades during the Southern Hemisphere spring, chemical reactions involving chlorine and bromine cause ozone in the southern polar region to be destroyed rapidly and severely. This depleted region is known as the “ozone hole.”The area of the ozone hole is determined from a map of total column ozone. It is calculated from the area on the Earth that is enclosed by a line with a constant value of 220 Dobson Units (a unit of measure for total ozone.) The value of 220 Dobson Units is chosen since total ozone values of less than 220 Dobson Units were not found in the historic observations over Antarctica prior to 1979. Also, from direct measurements over Antarctica, a column ozone level of less than 220 Dobson Units is a result of the ozone loss from chlorine and bromine compounds.This Hyperwall series shows the recent status of the ozone layer over the Antarctic, with a focus on the ozone hole. Satellite instruments monitor the ozone layer, and OzoneWatch uses their data to create the images that depict the amount of ozone. Ozone hole size plots and October 1st images from 1979-2015 July-December animations of ozone for selected years from 1979 to 2015 Ozone hole on October 1 for selected years between 1979-2015 Ozone hole on December 1 for selected years between 1979-2015. For More InformationSee [http://ozonewatch.gsfc.nasa.gov](http://ozonewatch.gsfc.nasa.gov) Related pages