The protective layer separating Earth’s atmosphere from solar radiation has been damaged by human-caused emissions.
According to the latest assessment by the Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS), the ozone hole above Antarctica has now reached a significant size threshold slightly earlier than the annual average.
Each year the weakened area expands and contracts with the seasons, but in early-September 2026 this process dramatically increase in speed, reaching 25 million square kilometres by the middle of the month. This area is bigger than Antarctica itself.
The rate of depletion is, in part, governed by cold temperatures triggering the formation of polar stratospheric clouds, which can in turn cause the chemical remove of ozone via halogena in sunlight during the austral spring, which runs August to November. The rate at which this took place over the past month coincided with a sudden fall in minimum temperature around 20 kilometres beneath the South Pole.
Although this marks a worrying phenomena, other ozone hole diagnostics monitored by CAMS, including the ozone column minimum value within the defined area of the ozone hole and the ozone mass deficit, remained close to the average values.
‘The Antarctic ozone hole’s development can vary considerably from year to year, depending on a range of atmospheric and chemical factors. While we have seen its area increase rapidly in early September this year, other indicators remain close to historical averages,’ said Laurence Rouil, CAMS Director.
‘These findings highlight the importance of monitoring the complicated interaction between human-made disturbances and natural factors. CAMS provides the high-quality data, forecasts and analyses needed to understand the state of the ozone layer and track its long-term recovery,’ they added.
Image: Grooveland Designs / Unsplash
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