Antarctica’s ozone hole gets bigger

Scientists say the hole in the Earth’s protective ozone layer over the Southern Hemisphere is larger than usual this year and already surpasses the size of Antarctica.

The European Union’s Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service said yesterday that the so-called ozone hole, which appears every year during the Southern Hemisphere spring, has grown considerably in the past week following an average start.

“Forecasts show that this year´s hole has evolved into a rather larger than usual one,” said Vincent-henri Peuch, who heads the EU’S satellite monitoring service.

“We are looking at a quite big and potentially also deep ozone hole,” he said.

Experts say that while the ozone layer is beginning to recover, it’s likely to take until the 2060s for the ozone-depleting substances used in refrigerants and spray cans to disappear from the atmosphere completely. –