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NASA: Ozone Hole Smallest on Record

NASA: Ozone Hole Smallest on Record
Time-lapse photo from Sept. 9, 2019, shows the flight path of an ozonesonde as it rises into the atmosphere over the South Pole from the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station. (Robert Schwarz/University of Minnesota via NASA)

By    |   Tuesday, 22 October 2019 07:30 AM EDT

The hole in Earth's ozone layer above Antarctica is at its smallest size on record, with scientists calculating that it's less than half its usual size for this time of year.

NASA posted a release with the news Monday, saying the hole in the ozone, which filters the sun's harmful rays, is less than 3.9 million square miles in area. The hole is typically about 8 million square miles in late September or early October.

Story continues below video.

Scientists point to humans' declining use of products that contain chlorofluorocarbons as a reason why the hole is shrinking.

"It's great news for ozone in the Southern Hemisphere," said Paul Newman, NASA's chief scientist for Earth Sciences at the Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland.

"But it's important to recognize that what we're seeing this year is due to warmer stratospheric temperatures. It's not a sign that atmospheric ozone is suddenly on a fast track to recovery."

Ozone lies in the stratosphere, seven to 25 miles about the Earth's surface. The hole was first discovered in 1985 after the amount of ozone decreased in the 1970s.

According to NASA, the ozone above Antarctica is expected to return to its 1980 level around the year 2070.

One year ago, a United Nations report claimed that the Earth's ozone layer was healing from the damage caused to it by aerosol sprays and coolants.

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The hole in Earth's ozone layer above Antarctica is at its smallest size on record, with scientists calculating that it's less than half its usual size for this time of year. NASA posted a release with the news Monday, saying the hole in the ozone, which filters the sun's...
nasa, ozonehole, antarctica
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2019-30-22
Tuesday, 22 October 2019 07:30 AM
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