Wellington - The hole in the ozone layer over Antarctica reached a maximum area of 22 million m2 this year, two million fewer than in 2009.
Last year the ozone hole was 24 million m2 according to researchers from Niwa, New Zealand's National Institute for Water and Atmospheric Research, based in Auckland.
Every year we watch the changes in the size of the ozone hole, caused by differences in temperature and atmospheric circulation, but since five years ago that the hole in the ozone layer was not so reduced. In 2000, the year that the ozone hole recorded its highest value, there was, for this year, a decrease of seven million m2.
"We can say that it is improving, according to the results of this year," assured Stephen Wood, New Zealand Institute of Atmospheric researcher. "This is a sign that there is a recovery," the researcher added.
The calculations made by scientists from Niwa suggest that reduced the size of the ozone hole is mainly due to ban the use of products containing chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), used in refrigerators and aerosols.
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