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Hole in Ozone Layer Bigger Than Antarctica

To mark International Day for the Preservation of the Ozone Layer, teams from the European Service Copernicus, and the European Union’s Earth Observation Programme, who monitor the ozone layer over the South Pole, announced that the hole in the ozone layer (atmospheric layer that protects the Earth from harmful ultraviolet radiation) over the southern hemisphere is bigger than Antarctica (approx 14,000 square km).  The first ozone layer hole was identified by three scientists from the British Antarctic survey, who detected abnormally low levels of ozone over the South Pole on the 16th of May 1985. 

Copernicus Director, Vincent-Henri Peuch, stated that “this year, the hole in the ozone layer developed as expected at the start of the season, and behaved very similar to previous years, which were not exceptional in September, but then, it suddenly blew out of proportion to become the largest hole ever recorded. As such, the hole will evolve this year differently than usual, and although the vortex is quite stable and stratospheric temperatures are even lower than last year. We are facing a very large and potentially deep ozone hole.”

The observation system relies on computer modeling, combined with satellite imagery, similar to weather forecasts, to obtain a comprehensive three-dimensional image of the ozone hole.

This is not good news!

Samantha Gannon

info at madeira-weekly.com

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