Scientists warn about size of Antarctic ozone hole

The ozone hole over the Antarctic has reached its 2020 peak and is one of the largest holes of recent years, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) announced Tuesday at the United Nations in Geneva. The finding is based on observations by the European Union's Copernicus Atmospheric Monitoring Service

Each year in August, at the start of the Antarctic Spring, the ozone hole begins to grow and reaches its peak around October. Ozone depletion over the Antarctic continent was first spotted in 1985.

Over the last 35 years, various measures have been introduced to reduce the hole, including  the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the ozone Layer, an international treaty designed to protect the ozone layer by phasing out the production of numerous substances that are responsible for ozone depletion.

As a result, the ozone layer over Antarctica is slowly recovering, but Spokesperson for the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO), Clare Nullis said that "we cannot be complacent". Despite the growing hole, experts are confident that since the restrictions on ozone-destroying halocarbons was introduced via the Montreal Protocol, the hole has slowly been recovering.

Climate projections indicate that the ozone layer will return to 1980 levels in 2060. Ozone depletion relies on extremely cold temperatures. Therefore, the colder the temperature in the stratosphere over Antarctica, the bigger the ozone hole. Scientists are predicting that the ozone hole in spring will become smaller and recover as a seasonal event.

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