NOAA: Antarctic ozone hole has shrunk, full recovery predicted
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This year's ozone hole over the Antarctic is one of the smallest ever recorded and scientists say the ozone layer should fully recover by 2066. (Image courtesy of NOAA Climate.gov)
Oct. 30 (UPI) -- A hole in the atmosphere's ozone layer is the seventh-smallest since recovery began in 1992, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced Wednesday.
The hole annually opens over the Antarctic at the southern pole and is much smaller than in most prior years, the NOAA announced.
NOAA and NASA scientists estimate the ozone layer could fully recover by 2066 and no longer have a hole opening each year.
"The 2024 Antarctic hole is smaller than ozone holes seen in the early 2000s," NASA ozone research team leader Paul Newman said. "The gradual improvement we've seen in the past two decades shows that international efforts that curbed ozone-destroying chemicals are working."
The peak time for ozone depletion is from Sept. 7 through Oct. 13, but this year's hole ranked as the seventh-smallest since efforts began tin 1992 to counteract the hole caused by ozone-depleting chemicals.
The ozone hole this year averaged 8 million square miles with a peak size of 8.5 million square miles on Sept. 28, according to the NOAA.
The ozone hole's average size this year was about three times larger than the combined landmass of the United States.
The NOAA and NASA have reported the ozone hole's size every year since 1979, when satellites made it possible to track it.
Areas subject to ozone depletion are subjected to more UV radiation from the sun, which raises the potential for skin cancer, cataracts and reduced agricultural yields.
Ozone depletion also harms animals in important ecosystems and damages aquatic plants.
The Montreal Protocol established international agreement on ceasing the use of chemicals that depleted the ozone layer, which provides the Earth with a natural sunscreen, according to the NOAA.
A decline in the international use of chlorofluorocarbons -- combined with a natural infusion of ozone due to air currents from north of the Antarctic -- helped the ozone hole stay relatively small this year, NOAA scientists said.
While the ozone hole generally is shrinking, relatively large holes have been recorded as recently as last year.
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