This year, the size of the ozone hole reached 24 million square kilometers (9.3 million square miles). It is larger than the United States and Canada combined.
Below is the Animation tracking the size of this year's ozone hole, which is one of the largest on the record created by Reddit user Sdbernard.
CFC-11 or trichlorofluoromethane was extensively used from the 1970s to 1980s as a refrigerant and foam insulation. The Montreal Protocol in 1987 forbade CFCs and other aerosols that chemically destroy protective ozone 10-40 kilometers (6 to 25 miles) above our planet's surface, particularly over Antarctica and Australia.
Late CFC-11 was principally used for house insulation, but worldwide production was stopped by 2010.
Researches have seen a significant slowdown in the depletion rate of the Ozon layer over the past 6 years. After 2012 the depletion rate slowed by nearly 50%.
The new growth of the ozone hole and CFC-11 concentrations in our planet's atmosphere may indicate the resumption of production of this gas because the chemical is not naturally occurring.
This new investigation says this is mainly caused by new gas generation in the eastern provinces of China.
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