The ozone hole can be healed in 2070

Scientists say that the ozone layer is gradually shrinking and may disappear by 2070.

>>>The hole in the ozone layer in Antarctica is shrinking

Previous research has suggested that the ozone hole will be healed by 2050. But recently, NASA scientists have studied the real cause of preventing ozone recovery and confirmed. , the ozone hole can be healed in 2070. The reason for this delay may not be the environmental pollution factor that we think it is, but the impact of wind change.

The whole world is working hard to protect Ozone

The ozone layer (height of 20-30km) has the function of preventing UV ultraviolet rays, protecting life on Earth. Since the 1990s, chlorofluorocarbons (CFC) refrigerant has created a large hole in the Antarctic ozone layer. The Montreal Protocol was signed in 1987 to gradually eliminate the use of CFCs in countries.

However, scientists said, until now, the prohibition of using CFC has not brought any positive signs for this atmosphere. So, the question arises, will reducing environmental pollution really help 'heal' this important atmosphere?

The correct answer can only be made in 2025, but the Aura team from NASA's Goddard Space Center in Greenbelt (USA) said it is possible that the change of wind direction has prevented the process. ozone regeneration in the South Pole.

Ozone hole through the years (blue is a punctured area)

Normally, ozone is produced in the tropics and is blown to the South pole by the wind. However, the wind direction changes gradually each year, leading to the situation that ozone is not transported to the proper location and the southernmost hole must wait until 2070 to heal.

Scientists are also examining how to measure and assess holes in the ozone layer, because the old method based on ozone density may miss what is actually happening in the stratosphere.

Antarctica faces the largest ozone hole and has yet to show signs of decline

For example, in 2012, the ozone hole has dropped to a record low, although the level of CFC in the atmosphere is not much reduced. In contrast, the loss in 2011 has the same area as in 2006, although CFC has declined significantly in these years.

In another study, the researchers found that in 2011, the level of chlorine was lower although the size of the ozone hole was quite large. Using computer models, they showed that weather conditions would reduce ozone levels above Antarctica, so large holes were the result of depleting the ozone that winds from the tropics brought to this area in years ago.

It is possible that the problem of wind direction has slowed the process of ozone regeneration, not the amount of CFC as people still suspect

The atmospheric chemist Susan Strahan from NASA Goddard said: 'This is not a problem of chemistry but merely of meteorology.'

Therefore, from now until 2025, when the results of the ozone hole are published, all annual measurements should be considered for its accuracy.