Measurements from the Copernicus Sentinel-5P satellite show that this year’s ozone hole over Antarctica is one of the biggest on record. The hole, which is what scientists call an ‘ozone depleting area,’ reached a size of 26 million sq km on 16 September 2023. This is roughly three times the size of Brazil.
Lots of doom and gloom in the comments here. As the article describes, the hole in the ozone layer varies in size over time. It is slowly recovering, but the annual variability means it sometimes is larger than before.
And
If only all the other ways we’re trashing this planet were as easy to solve as it was to simply ban CFCs
They aren’t that difficult either, it just will have a bigger impact because we have been relying on them for longer.
Banning oil and single-use plastics would go a long way.
Yeah, but I’m wondering what can replace rubber tires. I was just reading about how they’re a massive source of microplastics and other pollutants in the environment
I’d Imagine that some type of aerofoam type thing could work for smaller vehicles like bikes n all
Sounds like something global warming can make worse.
Isn’t the northern hemisphere jet stream struggling due to decreasing temperature differences, since the poles are warming faster? Which then causes weather to change less, making things more extreme?
Gulf Stream, not jet stream. https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-66289494
so you don’t think the increase in methane is gonna effect this?
I dunno about you, but ‘lots of doom and gloom’ sells short of utterly fucking shocking temp rises in the ocean, the slowing of the gulf stream and the heat-stroke of a winter the southern hemisphere just endured.
meteorologist Brian McNoldy of the University of Miami called global air and ocean temperature trends “bonkers,” stating: “People who look at this stuff routinely can’t believe their eyes. Something very weird is happening.” https://www.axios.com/2023/06/13/climate-extremes-warming-charts-concerns
I’m not trying to fear-monger but I think we’d all be better off frankly recognizing the shit isn’t going to hit the fan, it’s hitting it rapidly and the backblast is beginning to impact. It’s not doom-and-gloom if it’s actual reality people are trying to live through.
The hole was set to be normal by now.
Where did you hear that? CFCs can linger in the atmosphere for 50-100 years, so recovery is a slow process. It took more than a decade after the Montreal Protocol went into effect before the hole in the ozone layer stopped growing. Additionally, different parts of the ozone layer will recover at different rates: