one of the largest ozone holes on record. 2026

[Mark]

The Southern Hemisphere’s ozone hole reached 27 million km² this month, making it one of the largest ozone holes on record. This year’s large ozone hole is associated with an unusually strong polar vortex, which could also influence Australia’s weather this spring.


What is the ozone hole?

Earth’s atmosphere contains an ozone layer that protects life on the planet’s surface from harmful ultraviolet radiation emitted by the Sun.


Human use of ozone-depleting substances (ODSs) in the late twentieth century depleted stratospheric ozone, leading to the development of the annual Antarctic ozone hole.


The ozone hole is not an actual hole – it’s a region of substantially depleted ozone in the stratosphere high above Antarctica.


The ozone hole develops in late winter and spring when sunlight returns to Antarctica and interacts with ozone-depleting substances on the surface of polar stratospheric clouds – a rare type of cloud that forms in extremely cold air trapped by the polar vortex. These reactions rapidly destroy ozone molecules in the polar stratosphere, creating the ozone hole.


Towards the end of spring, the polar vortex weakens and allows ozone-rich air to mix back into the polar stratosphere, causing the ozone hole to break down.
https://www.weatherzone.com/au/news/antarctic-ozone-hole-reaches-one-of-its-largest-sizes-on-record-as-polar-stratosphere-cools/1891576

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