MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Antarctica ozone hole predicted to be the smallest in recent years

The ozone layer hole this year began earlier

The hole in the ozone layer over Antarctica this year should reach 25 million square kilometers, or two million square kilometers less than in 2008, announced Wednesday the World Meteorological Organization (WMO).

“The meteorological conditions observed so far indicate that the hole in the ozone layer in 2009 will be smaller than those of 2006 and 2008, and close to the size of that of 2007” (25 million square kilometers), said the UN agency in a statement.

The hole in the ozone layer over Antarctica was discovered in the 1980s. It begins to form each year in August and reached its maximum size late September or early October, before closing from mid-December.

This year, the hole began to form “earlier,” said WMO ozone Specialist Geir Braathen. On 16 September it was 24 million square kilometers.

Scientists believe the damage caused by man is such that the ozone layer should return to a normal state in 2075. The ozone protects the earth from ultraviolet rays that can cause harmful burns, eye damage and skin cancer.

The main responsible for the hole in the ozone layer, chlorofluorocarbons gases (CFCs), which were used as a refrigerant and propellant in aerosols, have been banned by the Montreal Protocol of 1987.