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09/01/21 08:00 AM IST

Antarctic ozone hole closes

In news

The annually occurring ozone hole over the Antarctic had rapidly grown from mid-August 2020 and peaked at around 24 mln sq km

How?
  • The expansion of the hole was driven by a strong, stable and cold polar vortex and very cold temperatures in the stratosphere.
  • The same meteorological factors also contributed to the record 2020 Arctic ozone hole, which has also closed.
  • A polar vortex is a wide expanse of swirling cold air, a low pressure area, in polar regions. During winters, the polar vortex at the North Pole expands, sending cold air southward.
  • An ozone hole is the thinning of the ozone layer boosted in size by colder temperatures.
  • As the temperatures high up in the stratosphere starts to rise, ozone depletion slows, the polar vortex weakens and breaks down. By the end of December, ozone levels return to normal. 
The Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer regulates production and consumption of nearly 100 chemicals referred (OSD). Since the ban on halocarbons, the ozone layer has slowly been recovering

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