The ozone layer reached in 2024 the thickest thickness recorded in decades of monitoring, according to information published this Monday (15) in a report from the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), linked to the United Nations. The numbers indicated a gradual recovery of the structure that protects the planet from solar radiation. The hole had dimensions below the 1990-2020 average, with a deficit of 46.1 million tons of ozone in 2024. The gap was smaller than that observed in the four previous years, from 2020 to 2023.
Among the explanations mentioned by the WMO is greater solar activity, which favors ozone formation, and atmospheric dynamics that aid in the production and transport of the gas to the Earth’s poles. The information was published this Monday (15) in the jornal Folha de S.Paulo.
The WMO stated that, in 2024, ozone coverage over the entire planet was above the long-term historical average. The layer over the Arctic, for example, was 14% thicker in March last year compared to the 1960-2023 period. A 5% reduction in ultraviolet radiation incidence was identified during the summer in the Northern Hemisphere.
Located in the stratosphere, a part of the atmosphere, the ozone layer is a kind of shield that protects the Earth from the Sun’s radiation.
Source: www.brasil247.com