Ozone Hole Is About Average Size, Despite Undersea Volcano Eruption

"With last year’s undersea volcano injecting massive amounts of water high into the atmosphere, scientists were bracing for a big Antarctica ozone hole this fall. But it didn’t happen.

Instead this year’s ozone hole was about average size for the last 20 years, even a bit smaller than 2022’s, according to NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

From September to mid October, the ozone hole this year averaged 8.9 million square miles (23.1 million square kilometers), which is the 16th largest since satellites started tracking in 1979. It peaked this year at 10 million square miles (26 million square kilometers), about the size of North America."

Seth Borenstein reports for the Associated Press November 1, 2023.

SEE ALSO:

"Ozone Hole Grows This Year, But Still Shrinking In General" (AP)

Source: AP, 11/02/2023