The ozone layer reached its maximum recorded thickness in decades of monitoring in 2024, 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 was below the average size from 1990 to 2020, with a deficit of 46.1 million tons of ozone in 2024. The hole was smaller than that seen in the previous four years, from 2020 to 2023.
Among the explanations mentioned by the WMO is the increase in solar activity, which favors ozone formation, and atmospheric dynamics that help in the production and transport of the gas to the Earth’s poles. The information was published this Monday (15) in the newspaper Folha de S.Paulo.
The WMO stated that in 2024, the 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 of last year compared to the 1960 to 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 solar radiation.
Source: www.brasil247.com