Giant ozone hole opens up over the Arctic for the first time

A hole in Earth's protective ozone layer above the Antarctic has become an annual event for the last 25 years, greatly increasing the South Pole's exposure to ultraviolet rays. Now, the same thing is happening above the Arctic Circle

The ozone layer is found roughly between 20 and 25 miles above our planet's surface. Primarily composed of the oxygen compound ozone, this layer serves to absorb about 97-99% of all ultraviolet light that reaches Earth from the Sun, shielding us from its more dangerous effects. But due to the heavy use of various human-manufactured compounds — in particular chlorofluorocarbons, or CFCs, which have since been largely banned — the ozone layer has become depleted, opening up holes over as much as 5% of the Earth's surface ever since the mid-1980s.

Until now, the vast majority of those holes were found high above Antarctica, but now it appears this severe ozone depletion has migrated to the other pole. An international team of researchers discovered that a mix of ozone-depleting pollutants and unusually cold temperatures above the North Pole drove the creation of a new Arctic ozone hole unlike any we've seen before. To read more, click here.