Good news! The hole in the ozone layer is closing
10/01/2023
And there is more! The hole in the ozone layer may even be fully closed in 43 years, in 2066. The year begins with positive
After four years of an exceptionally large and persistent ozone hole, the annual hole in the ozone layer over Antarctica closed during the second half of December.
Over the last four years, the annual hole in the ozone layer over Antarctica has persisted for longer than usual, but closed during the second half of December, Copernicus data shows.
Near real-time monitoring by the Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS), the Earth observation component of the European Union’s Space Program, shows that the 2024 Antarctic ozone hole began to close at the beginning of December, which is closer to the average than in recent years. The other indicators normally used to detect the hole in the ozone layer, such as total area, were also closer to the average than in recent years.
The development of the Antarctic ozone hole in 2024 started later than average, mainly due to the disturbance of the polar vortex following two episodes of sudden warming of the stratosphere in July.
“As the polar vortex recomposed throughout August, the chemical destruction of stratospheric ozone over Antarctica was able to take effect, as it does every year,” reads the Copernicus press release. Com a extensão máxima de aproximadamente 22 milhões de quilómetros quadrados atingida no final de setembro, os valores do buraco do ozono deste ano estão mais próximos da média de 1979-2021 do que nos últimos anos.
According to the data, this extension is not only smaller than in 2023 and 2022, when the maximum area was around 25 million square kilometers, but the maximum occurred later than in 2023 and is in line with the historical average. “Although some of the ozone holes of recent years have stood out for closing later in the year on average, the 2024 closure was more typical,” reads the Copernicus note.
Since 2019, the closure has been taking place in the second half of December. The reasons for the unusually stable polar vortices observed in recent years, which have influenced these persistent and large ozone holes, are under investigation. However, it is understood that the eruption of the Hunga Tonga Hunga Ha’Apai volcano in 2021-2022, which injected several million tons of water vapor into the stratosphere, may be one of the reasons.
“The area of the ozone hole decreased steadily throughout October, in line with the average, but stabilized in November with an area of approximately 10 million square kilometers per day during the month. The polar vortex broke up in the first week of December, quickly aligning the closure of the 2024 ozone hole with the average closure date of 1979-2021,” explains the observation component.
For Laurence Rouil, director of CAMS at the European Center for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMPM), “the Montreal Protocol and its subsequent amendments have been highly effective in reducing emissions of ozone-depleting substances, but there is still some variability in this process due to natural changes in the other atmospheric variables at play. We expect to see the first signs of recovery of the ozone hole in the coming decades.”
She might have chosen to study Meteorology and Oceanography, but ultimately pursued Communication. And that's fine because if they don't get their weather predictions right, she wouldn't be the one to change that. She started by looking for sustainable ideas and projects for the university, and since then, she has never stopped (who stops, really?). She loves to watch tv shows, but she watches few because she is demanding. You don't need much to convince her to embrace new, "greener" habits and challenges.
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