(NASA)The Antarctic ozone hole hit its smallest annual peak on record since tracking began in 1982, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and NASA announced Monday. Instead, scientists attribute the relatively tiny ozone hole to unusually mild temperatures in that layer of the atmosphere. Each year, an ozone hole forms during the Southern Hemisphere’s late winter as the sun’s rays initiate chemical reactions between the ozone molecules and man-made chemically active forms of chlorine and bromine. Instead, the Antarctic polar vortex was knocked off balance and slowed significantly, from an average wind speed of 161 mph to just 67 mph. Historic contextIn contrast with global warming, the discovery of the ozone hole by scientists at the British Antarctic Survey in 1985 galvanized international action.

Source: Washington Post October 21, 2019 17:03 UTC