Are CFCs related to global warming?
Starting around September, protective ozone steps aside to let the sun's harmful rays penetrate the atmosphere.
This year the process began earlier than in the past - that's the bad news. The good news? Depletion didn't reach the lowest values of recent years.
"This is the largest geographical size on record and comparable to the area of North America," said Physical Scientist Lawrence Flynn of the National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service.
At its peak, the hole reached the size of roughly 11 million square miles in early September. But the question is, why?
Unlike the mid-latitudes, where most humans thrive, Antarctica lives in darkness half the year. With the advent of spring, which in the southern hemisphere coincides with our fall season, the sun returns.
It is the light of the sun that serves as a catalyst for chlororfluorocarbons to react with the ozone present in the stratosphere. And it is this reaction which works to cause the gap over the continent.
CFCs are synthetic compounds resulting from human comforts such as air conditioning and refrigerators.
Although the harmful compound is often blamed for the opening, scientists maintain that this year's phenomenon is more weather-related.
"Year-to-year fluctuations in the geographical size of the ozone hole and the timing of the ozone reduction are believed to be related to meteorological factors such as temperatures and wind, rather than further increases in ozone-destroying chemicals in the atmosphere," said David Hofman, director of the Climate Monitoring and Diagnostics Laboratory in Boulder, Colo.
Nevertheless, the world is taking precautions against CFCs. The United Nations Environmental Program and the World Meteorological Organization, also responsible for naming tropical cyclones, are working together to mitigate the problem. One step was called the Montreal Protocol, which regulated emissions worldwide.
The ozone layer has deteriorated overall since 1980, but Antarctica sees the greatest depletion. An international assessment involving hundreds of scientists found that, in light of international regulations, CFCs should soon be reaching a maximum.
Are CFCs related to global warming?
While logic may lead us to believe that a growing hole over the earth would cause temperatures to warm, scientists say, the problem actually works in reverse.
The depletion in the ozone layer carries with it the danger of the sun's ultraviolet rays, which cause skin cancer and cataracts in humans. But thinning ozone does not translate to warming temperatures.
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