Thought the problem was solved? The ozone hole has ballooned again to enormous proportions

The ozone hole over Antarctica expanded in less than two weeks to about 25 million square kilometers, about 5 million above the seasonal average. Despite the slow recovery thanks to the Montreal Protocol, stratospheric weather fluctuations cause the hole to grow and shrink from time to time. The assessment: the ozone layer will return to 1980 levels around 2040.

The ozone hole over Antarctica returned to the headlines after expanding rapidly in early September 2026. By September 12, its area reached about 25 million square kilometers, about 5 million above the average for this time of year. Scientists from the Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS) explain that the main factor is a sharp drop in stratospheric temperatures over Antarctica. The extreme cold allows the formation of polar stratospheric clouds, on which chemical reactions occur that make chlorine and bromine compounds particularly active. With the return of sunlight after the Antarctic winter, they rapidly break down ozone molecules. Despite the slow recovery thanks to the 1987 Montreal Protocol, the harmful substances do not disappear from the atmosphere overnight and remain for decades. Long-term forecasts still estimate that the ozone layer over most of the world will return to 1980 levels around 2040, and over Antarctica by the mid-2060s. The article emphasizes that the hole never completely disappeared, and the current expansion is not a sign of recovery failure but a reminder that the problem still exists.