Hole in ozone: strong reduction in a year, now it's as big as Europe

The hole in the ozone above the South Pole has been reduced by 60% compared to a year ago. But only partially good news. According to the data provided by NASA and by Noaa (the entity on the atmosphere and the oceans of the United States) the ozone hole, which had opened in the last decades of the last century mainly due to the use of gases containing fluorine, bromine and chlorine (Cfc, Hfc and halogenated) used in refrigerators, fire extinguishers and as propellants in spray cans, banned with the Montreal Protocol which came into force in 1989, the sharp reduction in just one year due essentially to the abnormal heat in the upper layers of the atmosphere in the Antarctic regions. The ozone layer in the stratosphere protects us from harmful ultraviolet rays from the sun.

The minimum surface

In 2019, the ozone hole reached the minimum surface area of ​​9.3 million square kilometers (less than Europe, including Russia, which is just over 10 million square kilometers), last year it was 22.9 million sq. km. The extension reached between September 7th and October 13th of this year is the lowest since 1983, when it was recorded at 7.9 million square kilometers. The maximum extension this year was reached on September 8th with 16.4 million square kilometers, since then it has been progressively reduced. The hole forms over the South Pole at the end of the southern winter when reactions that destroy the ozone molecule that consists of three oxygen atoms are triggered.