The golf hole in the ozone level above Antarctica is strangely large for this fourth dimension of year , prompt reverence that it could chair to further warming of the South Pole . Oddly enough , it look like this is a consequence of body of water vapor that ended up in Earth ’s stratosphere follow the 2022 Hunga Tonga – Hunga Ha’apai volcanic eruption , the largest natural burst on our satellite in over a hundred .

The ozone hole over Antarctica grows and cringe throughout the year in tune with the seasons . During the Southern Hemisphere spring season ( August to October ) , the hole increase in size , hit a maximal extent between mid - September and mid - October .

Around this time of year in 2021 and 2022 , the ozone hole was much non - existent and did n’t significantly maturate until the remnant of August . This year , however , data point from theCopernicus Climate modification Serviceshows it has grown much to begin with and is forecast to rapidly expand forwards of schedule .

Theozonelayer is a region of the stratosphere between 15 and 30 kilometer ( 9.3 to 18.6 miles ) above the Earth ’s surface that has a higher concentration of the gas ozone compared to other percentage of the atmosphere . It acts as an invisible shield for our planet , absorbing much of the Sun ’s harmful ultraviolet rays .

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In the 1970s and eighties , scientists discovered a hole in the ozone layer above the South Pole , activate one of the biggest environmental worries of recent time . It transpire that the stratum was being worn away by man - made chemicals , namely refrigerant and solvent , that can act as ozone - eat essence after they are wafted up into the stratosphere .

as luck would have it , the bans on ozone - eat chemicals try successful and the level is well on itspath to recovery . Seasonal fluctuations in the ozone hole ’s size of it still survive , though .

The ground behind the unseasonably gravid hole at the moment might be a knock - on force of the Hunga Tonga - Hunga Ha’apai volcano eruption which ended in January 2022 .

The subaqueous extravasation in the Pacific relinquish vim tantamount to 20 megaton of TNT in five detonation , the largest of which was 15 megaton , make it thelargest natural explosionin over a century .

Along with launching heaps of ash tree and gasoline , it also force an“unprecedented " amountof seawater into the atmospheric state . Scientists warned that the excess water vaporisation could bestow to the degradation of the ozone layer over the next few years – and it look like their predictions were right .

The unusually gravid hole is forged news for the Antarctic , which is alreadyfeeling the strainfrom warming temperature . Since the ozone layer shields Antarctica from the sun ’s UV radiation , the hole could entail that the continent and its surrounding ocean are being queer to more heat .

“ The more ultraviolet radiation that reaches Antarctica [ and ] the Southern Ocean mean that there is more energy available to melt ice . Now that we have so niggling sea ice , instead of [ reflective ] bloodless chalk there is very coloured aristocratical sea , ” Dr Martin Jucker , a lector at the Climate Change Research Centre at the University of New South Wales , toldThe Guardian .

“ There is a risk that the Southern Ocean would then heat up even more and then indirectly melt more ice because the body of water next to the ice is warmer , ” said Dr Jucker .