Antarctic Ozone Hole Swells to 10.5 Million Square Miles, Largest in 10 Years
Updated
Updated · abcnews.com · Nov 4
Antarctic Ozone Hole Swells to 10.5 Million Square Miles, Largest in 10 Years
3 articles · Updated · abcnews.com · Nov 4
Summary
NOAA and NASA said the Antarctic ozone hole peaked at 10.5 million square miles on Sept. 18, making 2026 the largest hole in a decade and the seventh largest in 48 years of records.
An unusually powerful polar vortex drove the expansion by lingering over Antarctica and extending ozone depletion after weaker-than-normal planetary weather systems failed to break it up in August and September.
The 2026 hole reached about 90% of the record 2000 size, a sharp reversal from 2025, when it ranked as the fifth smallest since 1992.
Scientists said recovery is still on track because curbs on ozone-depleting chemicals have worked; without them, this year's hole would have been 1 million to 2 million square miles larger.
Researchers still expect the ozone hole to recover by the 2070s as older compounds decay, with later seasonal formation in recent years seen as another sign of healing.