This is fascinating, Melanie. Using the ozone layer as a microcosm of the greater climate challenge was a helpful framework, even if, as you pointed out, it doesn't offer the solutions we need. Still, it helps to highlight the scale and range of the challenge we face. Climate change can feel so overwhelming that it coaxes inaction but making an effort to take inventory of the problem, as you've done here, can serve to counteract that slide toward complacency -- at least it does for me. Thanks for writing.
That's really interesting! I've vaguely wondered several times over the years, "Whatever happened to the ozone hole?" but didn't know the answer - thanks for sharing some positive news about the environment! I'll admit that I know very little about the upper reaches of our atmosphere, but I'm assuming there must be no wind in the stratosphere to "move" the hole around, if it tends to stay over Antarctica?
There is definitely wind in the stratosphere, and the ozone hole does spread - it's a contributor to New Zealand's high skin cancer rates, although not the only factor. But it's largely an annual thing, forming specifically in the polar winter and then closing up somewhat towards summer and autumn. So it always forms in the same spot, even though it spreads. Also, I read somewhere that the process of creating ozone happens mostly in the tropics and that the ozone then gets dispersed around the globe. Basically, the ozone layer is quite a bit more dynamic than we generally realise.
Thanks for great explanation Melanie Newfield.
Thank you, I appreciate it.
An excellent read! Thank you so much for the detailed explanation.
Thank you, I'm glad you found it clear.
This is a great article, Melanie! And 0.5 degrees C is a significant reduction; if I play around with this simulator, it's rare to get an effect like that from any single factor: https://en-roads.climateinteractive.org/scenario.html?v=22.9.0
Thank you. That's a fascinating link, really gives me something to think about in terms of solutions.
This is fascinating, Melanie. Using the ozone layer as a microcosm of the greater climate challenge was a helpful framework, even if, as you pointed out, it doesn't offer the solutions we need. Still, it helps to highlight the scale and range of the challenge we face. Climate change can feel so overwhelming that it coaxes inaction but making an effort to take inventory of the problem, as you've done here, can serve to counteract that slide toward complacency -- at least it does for me. Thanks for writing.
Thank you. I'm glad that you found it interesting. I did find it encouraging to look at an area where there was positive progress.
That's really interesting! I've vaguely wondered several times over the years, "Whatever happened to the ozone hole?" but didn't know the answer - thanks for sharing some positive news about the environment! I'll admit that I know very little about the upper reaches of our atmosphere, but I'm assuming there must be no wind in the stratosphere to "move" the hole around, if it tends to stay over Antarctica?
There is definitely wind in the stratosphere, and the ozone hole does spread - it's a contributor to New Zealand's high skin cancer rates, although not the only factor. But it's largely an annual thing, forming specifically in the polar winter and then closing up somewhat towards summer and autumn. So it always forms in the same spot, even though it spreads. Also, I read somewhere that the process of creating ozone happens mostly in the tropics and that the ozone then gets dispersed around the globe. Basically, the ozone layer is quite a bit more dynamic than we generally realise.