In a good news, European satellite system Copernicus has found that a record-breaking hole ever observed in the ozone layer over Arctic has closed.
In late March, scientists had spotted signs of a hole forming and it was thought to be the result of low temperatures at the north pole. The ozone layer shields the Earth from most of Sun’s ultraviolet radiation, a major cause of skin cancer. The largest hole ever detected would only have posed a direct threat to humans if it had moved further south to populated areas. But recently (on April 23), Copernicus earth observation satellite system, comprising a constellation of six families of satellites (Sentinels) and dozens of third party satellites, found the hole had closed.
However, the closing has nothing to do with the reduction in pollution caused by Covid-19 lockdown in several countries. Instead, it’s due to the polar vortex, the high-altitude currents that normally bring cold air to the polar regions. This has split in two giving the Arctic region a relative heatwave, with temperatures up to 20ºC higher than is normal for this time of year. This year the polar vortex was extremely powerful and temperatures inside it had been very cold. This generated stratospheric clouds that destroy the ozone layer by reacting with chlorofluorocarbon (CFC) gases. However in recent days, the polar vortex had broken up and weakened.
The first time an ozone hole was observed at the North Pole was in 2011, but it was smaller and during the month of January.
In late March, scientists had spotted signs of a hole forming and it was thought to be the result of low temperatures at the north pole. The ozone layer shields the Earth from most of Sun’s ultraviolet radiation, a major cause of skin cancer. The largest hole ever detected would only have posed a direct threat to humans if it had moved further south to populated areas. But recently (on April 23), Copernicus earth observation satellite system, comprising a constellation of six families of satellites (Sentinels) and dozens of third party satellites, found the hole had closed.
However, the closing has nothing to do with the reduction in pollution caused by Covid-19 lockdown in several countries. Instead, it’s due to the polar vortex, the high-altitude currents that normally bring cold air to the polar regions. This has split in two giving the Arctic region a relative heatwave, with temperatures up to 20ºC higher than is normal for this time of year. This year the polar vortex was extremely powerful and temperatures inside it had been very cold. This generated stratospheric clouds that destroy the ozone layer by reacting with chlorofluorocarbon (CFC) gases. However in recent days, the polar vortex had broken up and weakened.
The first time an ozone hole was observed at the North Pole was in 2011, but it was smaller and during the month of January.