SCIENCE FILE: An exploration of issues and trends affecting science, medicine and the environment : Loss of Ozone Layer Over Antarctic Is Getting Worse
<i> From Times staff and wire reports</i>
Ten years after the discovery of the hole in the ozone layer over the Antarctic caused by chlorofluorocarbons, the problem continues to worsen, according to one of the original discoverers, J. D. Shanklin of the British Antarctic Survey. He and colleague Anna Jones report in the current Nature that the amount of ozone lost during the Antarctic spring continues to grow and that the hole now persists into the summer months of January and February.
As expected, the ozone loss is also affecting temperatures in the region, causing dramatic cooling. Average noontime temperatures in November, especially, have been running nearly 20 degrees Fahrenheit below normal, close to what had previously been the historical minimum temperatures for the area.
