Good news! Scientists say the Antarctic ozone hole is on the road to recovery
The amounts of ozone-depleting substances grew rapidly in our atmosphere in the 80s and early 1990s
but had stopped growing in late 90s because of the 1987 Montreal Protocol
As levels of these manufactured chemicals have decreased in the last 14 years
the ozone hole has seen a slight improvement
Today, satellite observations by NASA and NOAA show the peak size of this year’s ozone hole
measured 9.3 million square miles—an area roughly the size of North America
This area is smaller than holes observed in past years
and significantly less than the largest hole on record
But scientists say the decrease of ozone-depleting substances isn’t the only factor that has contributed to these improvements
Rising temperatures in an upper layer of the atmosphere known as the stratosphere may also play a role
Colder temperatures over the polar regions have been shown to promote ozone depletion
while warmer temperatures lead to increased ozone
Years with warmer temperatures generally had smaller holes
while colder temperatures had larger holes
So how much of the ozone hole’s recovery is due to a rising temperatures
versus decreasing levels of manufactured chemicals?
Scientists are looking to answer this question