Earth’s ozone layer may not be recovering. Here’s why that’s a concern

The ozone layer – around 15 to 30 kilometres above the Earth – protects humanity from the Sun’s harmful ultraviolet rays. “Our analysis ended with data from 2022, but as of today the 2023 ozone hole has already surpassed the size of the three years prior – late last month it was over 26 million square kilometres, nearly twice the area of Antarctica,” said Kessenich. “Six of the last nine years have had really low ozone amounts and extremely large ozone holes,” study co-author Annika Seppala of New Zealand’s Otago University told AFP. He told CNN, “Existing literature has already found reasons for these large ozone holes: Smoke from the 2019 bushfires and a volcanic eruption, as well as a general relationship between the polar stratosphere and El Niño Southern Oscillation.” “We know that during La Niña years, the polar vortex in the stratosphere tends to be stronger and colder than usual, which means that ozone concentrations will also be lower during those years. The outlet quoted University of Leeds atmospheric scientist Martyn Chipperfield as saying, “The atmosphere is a complex system and many factors can lead to changes in the thickness of the ozone layer.” “We need to remain vigilant on … [ozone-depleting> compounds but, as the paper shows, also be aware of the impact of other factors such as climate change.” Leading ozone scientist Susan Solomon, who was not involved in the research, told AFP that the study should be viewed through the lens that “the past few years have been quite unusual”.