The ozone hole over the Arctic has reached record levels.

According to a study published on October 2nd in the British scientific journal Nature, the ozone hole over the Arctic has expanded to a record size for the first time, reaching an area five times the size of the US state of California.

Formed by the Arctic cold, this unprecedentedly large hole has moved across Eastern Europe, Russia, and Mongolia, exposing many people to high levels of ultraviolet radiation.

According to scientists, ozone, a molecule composed of three oxygen atoms, forms in the stratosphere and helps filter out ultraviolet rays that are harmful to plants and can cause skin cancer and cataracts.

The ozone layer is frequently affected at both poles of the Earth during winter and spring, partly due to chlorine-containing compounds that humans use in refrigeration systems and aerosols.

However, cold temperatures remain the primary factor destroying the ozone layer. Due to the effects of cold temperatures, water vapor and nitric acid molecules condense into clouds in the lower stratosphere. These clouds, in turn, become a place where atmospheric chlorine molecules transform into compounds that further destroy the ozone layer.

Satellite observations made during the winter-spring of 2010-2011 showed ozone depletion at altitudes between 15 and 23 km. The largest hole, covering more than 80% of the Arctic ozone layer, was at an altitude of 18 to 20 km.

According to VNA/Vietnam+