1st Hole in the Ozone Layer Above a Populated Area

Newsbriefs

For the first time ever,

a hole in the stratospheric ozone layer opened up over a populated area. During two days in early September the South Pole ozone hole extended over the Chilean city of Punta Arenas, a city of 120,000 people. Residents were exposed to very high levels of ultraviolet radiation, significantly increasing risk of skin cancer. The ozone hole over the Antarctic was the largest ever recorded, expanding to 11.5 million square miles (3 billion ha)—about three times the size of the United States.