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Earth\u2019s protective ozone layer remains on track for long-term recovery, despite atmospheric conditions that contributed to a larger Antarctic ozone hole in 2026, NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) reported. The ozone hole ranked seventh largest by area in 48 years of monitoring, but was not as deep as other large holes on record.<\/p>\n
From Sept. 7 to Oct. 13, peak ozone depletion season, the average extent of the hole covered about 9.6 million square miles (25 million square kilometers). Scientists continually track the amount of ozone in the stratosphere because it acts as the Earth\u2019s sunscreen that helps shield life from harmful solar radiation. This is distinct from ground level ozone, which is an air pollutant commonly resulting from human activities.\u202f\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThe annual ozone hole has been forming later in the season in recent years, which tells us the ozone layer is healing,\u201d said Paul Newman, a senior scientist at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, and longtime leader of NASA\u2019s ozone research team at the agency\u2019s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. \u201cBut an unusually powerful polar vortex has extended ozone depletion in the Antarctic this season, allowing the hole to grow to proportions we haven\u2019t seen in a decade.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
The ozone hole reached its greatest one-day extent for the year on Sept. 18 at 10.5 million square miles (27.1 million square kilometers). \u00a0For comparison, the largest ozone hole observed since monitoring began reached its maximum extent in September 2000.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe 2026 ozone hole is large but could have been 1 to 2 million square miles (3.5 million square kilometers) larger if ozone-depleting substances were as prevalent in the atmosphere today as they were at their peak in 2000,\u201d Newman said.\u00a0<\/p>\n \n