In a year of bad news from the Polar regions, a bright note. The ozone hole over Antarctica shrunk 30 percent compared to last year’s record size, reports the European Space Agency. This year’s ozone loss peaked at 27.7 million tons, compared to the 2006 record of 40 million tons—although the researchers caution the data don’t prove the ozone layer is actually recovering. This year’s hole was probably smaller because it was less centered on the South Pole, allowing it to mix with warmer air, reducing its growth.
So, we’re not off the hook on this one. Though it does mean that for one season, at least, fewer phytoplankton, penguins, leopard seals, and great whales, had to suffer life in the ultraviolet. May that come to pass again next year.
Julia Whitty is Mother Jones’ environmental correspondent. You can read from her new book, “The Fragile Edge,” and other writings, here.
