The ozone hole over Antarctica has reached its maximum size, according to scientists. This year, the ozone hole is one of the largest and deepest holes observed in the past 15 years.
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“The recent observations confirm that we must continue to enforce the Montreal protocol that bans the release of ozone-depleting chemicals,” said Vincent-Henri Peuch, director of the Copernicus Athmosphere Monitoring Service (Cams).
The ozone concentrations in the stratosphere over Antarctica have fallen to almost zero at an altitude of 20 to 25 km. The depth of the ozone layer is just under 100 Dobson units, about a third of the usual value in the absence of an extraordinary ozone hole event. This is attributed to a strong, stable and cold polar vortex.
Harmful chemicals
‘There is a lot of variation in the extent to which ozone holes develop each year,’ says Peuch. ‘The ozone hole of 2020 is similar to that of 2018, which was also a fairly large hole. When the sunlight returned to the South Pole in recent weeks, we saw a continuous depletion of the ozone layer in this area. ‘
The 1987 Montreal Protocol aims to protect the ozone layer and requires participating countries to phase out the production of chemicals that are harmful to the ozone layer. These include chlorofluorocarbon compounds, which are used in refrigerators and aerosol cans.
The ozone layer acts as a filter for UV radiation from the sunlight. For decades, an ozone hole has been forming over Antarctica for several months after the winter.
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