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In good news, the European Copernicus satellite system discovered that a record hole observed in the ozone layer over the Arctic has been closed.
In late March, scientists had detected signs of a hole forming and it was thought to be the result of low temperatures at the north pole. The ozone layer protects the Earth from most of the Sun’s ultraviolet radiation, one of the main causes 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’s Earth observation satellite system, comprising a constellation of six families of satellites (Sentinels) and dozens of third-party satellites, discovered that the hole had closed.
However, the closure has nothing to do with the reduction of contamination caused by the Covid-19 blockade in several countries. Instead, it is due to the polar vortex, the high-altitude currents that normally carry cold air to the polar regions. This has split in two, giving the Arctic region a relative heat wave, with temperatures up to 20ºC higher than normal for this time of year. This year, the polar vortex was extremely powerful and the temperatures inside it had been very cold. This generated stratospheric clouds that destroy the ozone layer by reacting with chlorofluorocarbon (CFC) gases. However, in the last few days, the polar vortex had broken 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.
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In late March, scientists had detected signs of a hole forming and it was thought to be the result of low temperatures at the north pole. The ozone layer protects the Earth from most of the Sun’s ultraviolet radiation, one of the main causes 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’s Earth observation satellite system, comprising a constellation of six families of satellites (Sentinels) and dozens of third-party satellites, discovered that the hole had closed.
However, the closure has nothing to do with the reduction of contamination caused by the Covid-19 blockade in several countries. Instead, it is due to the polar vortex, the high-altitude currents that normally carry cold air to the polar regions. This has split in two, giving the Arctic region a relative heat wave, with temperatures up to 20ºC higher than normal for this time of year. This year, the polar vortex was extremely powerful and the temperatures inside it had been very cold. This generated stratospheric clouds that destroy the ozone layer by reacting with chlorofluorocarbon (CFC) gases. However, in the last few days, the polar vortex had broken 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.
