The largest ozone hole over the Arctic suddenly closed



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In a bizarre fact, the largest hole in the ozone layer ever recorded over the Arctic suddenly closed a few weeks after scientists announced its existence.

According to details, the unusually large hole in the ozone layer formed earlier this year and peaked in March, about 11 miles above Earth’s surface.

Researchers from Copernicus Atmospheric Monitoring Service (CAMS) believed the hole was caused by an unusually strong polar vortex, which explains its relatively sudden growth, Mail Online reported.

“It is very unusual for such strong ozone depletion to occur in the northern hemisphere, but this year’s polar vortex was exceptionally strong and persistent, and temperatures were low enough to allow stratospheric cloud formation for several months,” Antje Inness said of “Copernicus”.

It is pertinent to mention here that the ozone layer helps filter the ultraviolet light from the atmosphere, and when holes appear it means that the most damaging solar radiation is penetrating the atmosphere and reaching the Earth’s surface.

Some scientists suggested that the rapid disappearance of the ozone hole may have been caused by radical reductions in air pollution during the worldwide closings of COVID-19, but the CAMS team has rejected the idea.

“COVID19 and the associated locks probably had nothing to do with this,” the group wrote in a Twitter post.

“It was powered by an unusually strong and long-lived polar vortex, and is unrelated to changes in air quality.”

The CAMS team said that just as the hole formed quickly due to an unusually cold polar vortex, its disappearance is likely the result of heating of the polar vortex, causing it to begin mixing with ozone-rich air from the lower atmosphere. , compensating for temporary exhaustion.

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