EVERYDAY SCIENCE

Detailed explanation-1: -Scientists have discovered a large hole in ozone gas layer, which envelops the Earth and protects it from the Sun’s harmful ultraviolet rays. The hole is located in the lower stratosphere and is seven times bigger than the one over Antarctica, according to a paper published in AIP Advances.

Detailed explanation-2: -The hole lies above Antarctica, and between 7 September and 13 October 2022, it spanned an average area of 23.2 million square kilometres. This is well below the average in 2006, when the hole’s size peaked at 27.5 million square kilometres.

Detailed explanation-3: -The ozone hole happens when the protective ozone layer in the stratosphere above the South Pole begins to thin every September. Chlorine and bromine derived from human-produced compounds are released from reactions on high-altitude polar clouds.

Detailed explanation-4: -The Antarctic ozone holes in 2000 and 2006 were the largest on record, measuring around 29.8 and 29.6 million square kilometres respectively (more than three and a half times the size of Australia).

Detailed explanation-5: -The special meteorological conditions in Antarctica cause these gases to be more effective there in depleting ozone compared to anywhere else. Human emissions of chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) and halons (bromine-containing gases) have occurred mainly in the Northern Hemisphere.