UN: Ozone depletion briefly spiked over Arctic in March

U.N. meteorological ncy says depletion of ozone layer, which protects Earth from harmful levels of ultraviolet riation, briefly reached an unprecedented level over large swaths of Arctic in March.

World Meteorological Organization reported Friday that spike stemmed from lingering presence of man-me ozone-depleting substances in atmosphere and very cold temperatures in stratosphere that prevented ozone from reaching rrn region.

WMO spokeswoman Clare Nullis said conditions were “back to rmal again” in April, describing temporary depletion as “t a cause for exceptional concern.”

Nullis credited an international accord kwn as Montreal Protocol, which has sharply curtailed production of substances like chlorofluorocarbons, or CFCs, that harm ozone layer, for helping to limit springtime depletion this year.

World Meteorological Organization said that sunlight, wind fields, harmful chemicals and temperatures below -80 degrees Celsius (-112 F) drive formation of ozone holes. Most ozone depletion in Arctic occurs in “polar vortex,” a region of fast-blowing circular winds, it said.

Arctic ozone loss tends to be far less severe than in Antarctic.