"Thanks to unusually warm temperatures high above Antarctica this month, the ozone hole shrank to its smallest size on record, scientists reported Monday.
An annual phenomenon in the stratosphere above Antarctica, the ozone hole is a dramatic thinning of the ozone layer that's typically boosted in size by colder temperatures.
This is the third time in 40 years that weather systems have caused warm temperatures that limit ozone depletion, according to scientists from NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Similar weather patterns in the Antarctic stratosphere in September 1988 and 2002 also produced unusually small ozone holes.
“It’s important to recognize that what we’re seeing this year is due to warmer stratospheric temperatures,” said Paul Newman, chief scientist for Earth sciences at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, in a statement. “It’s not a sign that atmospheric ozone is suddenly on a fast track to recovery.”"
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