Ozone Layer Hole 96 Times The Size Of Taj Mahal Appears Over The Arctic, Increasing Cancer And Blindness Risks

Our ozone layer is healing and we have reason to cheer for that. However, while the hype of a recovered shield that protects our planet from the Sun’s ultraviolet has not yet died down, a piece of bad news surfaces. Recently, experts found out about a huge hole in the ozone layer right above the Arctic.

If you think this one is just like any other holes we have heard about over the years, you should recalibrate your expectations. This phenomenon is commonly seen over the South Pole, and now we see one in the north.

The Artic losing a certain amount of ozone is common; however, this latest depletion is unlike anything scientists have ever seen before.

As stated by Diego Loyola of the German Aerospace Center, the maximum extension of the hole over the Arctic was about 1 million sq km. When compared to the holes we often saw over Antarctica, this one was small given that those in the South were usually 20 to 25 million sq km.

The hole started to form since March 14 and the scientists expect that it would close in mid-April this year.

Researchers attribute this phenomenon to the extremely strong polar vortex, post-winter sunlight, and freezing temperatures in the stratosphere.

In 2019, we had the smallest ever ozone layer hole over Antarctica. As stated by NOAA (short for National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) and NASA, the peak of this hole was observed on September 8 at 6.3-million square miles. In October, the size shrunk to 3.9-million square miles.

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