The hole in the ozone layer reaches alarming level

The hole in the ozone layer over the continent of Antarctica has reached one of its largest extents this year, spanning 26 million square kilometers.

According to an announcement from the European Space Agency, imagery taken by the European Union’s Copernicus Sentinel-5P satellite on September 16th revealed that the width of the ozone hole over Antarctica had expanded to 26 million square kilometers.

The size of the ozone hole varies from August to October, reaching its maximum size between mid-September and mid-October. This year, the ozone hole rapidly grew from mid-August and became one of the largest ozone holes recorded by mid-September.

A United Nations Environment Programme report published in January indicated that the ozone layer was beginning to recover. The rapid expansion of the ozone hole is being speculated to be related to the activation of the underwater volcano Tonga in January 2022.