The ozone layer reached its thickest recorded in decades of monitoring in 2024, according to information published this Monday (15) in a report by 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 increased solar activity, which favors the formation of ozone, and atmospheric dynamics that help in the production and transport of gas to the Earth’s poles. The information was published this Monday (15) in the Folha de S.Paulo newspaper.
The WMO stated that in 2024, ozone coverage across the 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 period from 1960 to 2023. A 5% reduction in the incidence of ultraviolet radiation during the summer in the Northern Hemisphere was identified.
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