Hole in the ozone layer has grown for a 3rd year in a row — but scientists aren't concerned

The ozone hole has grown for the last three years.

The ozone hole is the largest it has been in three years. Scientists say that the hole's size is still going down. According to Paul Newman, NASA's chief Earth scientist, ozone is on the mend.

According to NASA, the ozone hole was first observed in the early 1980's and reached its largest extent in 2006 The ozone hole this year was the largest since 2015. Scientists are not too worried. The trend is getting better. Newman told the Associated Press that it was a little cooler this year.

In this NASA video, you can see how the ozone hole grew in 2021.

Ozone is composed of three oxygen atoms and has a big impact on our planet. Life on Earth is protected from the most harmful UV radiation from the sun. Ozone forms in the air around 9 to 18 miles above the ground. When UV radiation splits regular oxygen molecule, which are made of two oxygen atoms, two free-floating oxygen atoms then each bond with an oxygen molecule, forming a molecule made of three oxygen atoms

In the 1980's, scientists discovered the ozone layer. Human-driven pollution destroys ozone faster than it can be formed. Ozone is destroyed at an alarmingly high rate by technologies that use chlorine or bromine. A chlorine atom and an oxygen atom are used to make a chlorine monoxide molecule and a chlorine dioxide molecule. The chlorine atom is freed to react with more ozone when the chlorine monoxide molecule breaks down. One atom of chlorine can destroy 100,000 ozone molecule before the chlorine molecule is removed from the atmosphere according to the EPA.

Substances like chlorofluorocarbons can stay in the atmosphere for a long time and wreak havoc on the ozone layer.

It's exactly what chlorine needs to break down ozone. Clouds can form during the winter season. A surface on which chlorine can react with ozone is provided by the ice crystals in the clouds. The sun's UV rays make these reactions start. The ozone-destroying chemical reactions take place on the surface of the ozone layer once summer is over.

The Montreal Protocol helps to repair the ozone hole by regulating the production and consumption of ozone-depleting substances. Scientists agree that the ozone hole is getting smaller.

Since 1980, ozone-depleting substances in the atmosphere have decreased by 50%. According to the report, if the downward trend continues, the ozone layer could be repaired by 2070.

It was originally published on Live Science