Climate change affects Arctic ozone depletion

Very low winter temperatures in the Arctic stratosphere will become more common as climate change advances, and these extremely low temperatures of the upper atmosphere will lead to significant ozone depletion. Researchers are using their new observations to question the general assumption that the thinning of the ozone layer would stop in a few decades thanks to the ban on the production of chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs).

According to climate models it appears possible that Arctic ozone depletion will remain at its present level at least until 2100. It is also possible that ozone depletion will gain strength in this century if the anticipated increase in water vapour in the stratosphere is considered.

More information:

Researcher Rigel Kivi, Finnish Meteorological Institute, tel. 029 539 2728, rigel.kivi@fmi.fi

Peter von der Gathen, Rigel Kivi, Ingo Wohltmann, Ross Salawitch, and Markus Rex, Climate change favours large seasonal loss of Arctic ozone, Nature Communications, 23 June 2021, doi:10.1038/s41467-021-24089-6.

Communications scientific article available here