One of the longest-lived ozone holes should close on December 22

The closure of the ozone hole this year will happen just a few days earlier than in 2020, according to atmosphere.copernicus.eu. Last year's record has been held since 1979.

Copernicus Atmospheric Monitoring Service Director Vincent-Henri Peuch said: “The 2020 and 2021 Antarctic ozone holes were quite large and extremely durable. But this does not mean that the Montreal Protocol does not work: without it they would be even bigger. " According to the scientist, the reason for such large and prolonged ozone holes is in meteorological conditions, which are superimposed on the long process of ozone layer recovery over Antarctica. In recent weeks, researchers have recorded very high levels of ultraviolet radiation - more than 8 - in the regions of Antarctica located below the ozone hole.

The Montreal Protocol, signed in 1978 to protect the ozone layer, banned harmful chemicals that are associated with the destruction and depletion of the ozone layer. Their concentration is gradually decreasing, but due to long-term exposure in the past, the ozone layer will still take about four decades to fully recover.