While weather caused a greater loss of ozone this year, long-term recovery still on track.
While weather caused a greater loss of ozone this year, long-term recovery still on track.
Atypical weather conditions caused the Antarctic ozone hole to grow to an unusually large size in 2026, NOAA and NASA scientists reported today, though they said the protective ozone layer is still on track to recover by later this century.
Fueled by a powerful polar vortex, the 2026 ozone hole became the seventh-largest in 48 years of monitoring, based on NOAA and NASA analysis of the seasonal mean area. However, scientists noted that this year’s hole would have been larger still if levels of ozone-destroying chemicals in the atmosphere had not been reduced through international cooperation.
During peak ozone depletion season between September 7 and October 13, 2026, the average extent of the hole covered about 9.6 million square miles (25 million square kilometers) — more than twice the area of the United States. Scientists continually track the amount of ozone in the stratosphere because it acts as Earth’s “sunscreen,” helping shield life from harmful solar radiation. This is distinct from ground level ozone, which is an air pollutant commonly resulting from human activities.
Read More: NOAA
