Massive Ozone Hole Over the Arctic Has Closed

Credit: Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service, ECMWF

Scientists say that an ozone hole over the Arctic that formed this spring has closed.

At one point the ozone hole was the largest ever recorded.

The ozone hole was actually caused by a particularly strong Arctic polar vortex and not human activity.

In most cases, the main cause of the ozone holes was found to be gases that contained Cholorofluorocarbons (CFCs), Halons and Freons. Found commonly in aerosol cans and released by many electronic appliances, these were seen to decrease the level of ozone in the stratosphere.

A polar vortex is a low pressure area that is parked in polar regions. During winter, the polar vortex at the North Pole expands, sending cold air southward. This happens fairly regularly and is often associated with outbreaks of cold temperatures.

So this hole closing is not attributed to a reduction in pollution due to the COVID-19 pandemic.