Ozone hole over the South Pole is now bigger than Antarctica

The hole in ozone that is created every year over the south pole region has now become larger than Antarctica, said scientists from the European Union's Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service.

The layer depletes and forms a hole over the Antarctic in the southern hemisphere's spring, which is from August to October.

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It typically reaches its largest size between mid-September and mid-October, according to Copernicus.

After growing "considerably" in the past week, the hole is now larger than 75 per cent of previous years' ozone holes at the same stage of the season since 1979.

Vincent-Henri Peuch, Copernicus director, in a statement said, "This year, the ozone hole developed as expected at the start of the season".

"Now our forecasts show that this year´s hole has evolved into a rather larger than usual one."

The hole is typically caused by chemicals, such as chlorine and bromine migrating into the stratosphere, creating catalytic reactions during Antarctic winter.

The ozone hole is related to the Antarctic polar vortex, which is a band of swirling cold air that moves around the Earth.

When temperatures increase in the stratosphere in the late spring, ozone depletion slows, the polar vortex weakens and finally breaks down, and by December, ozone levels usually return to normal.

This ends the isolation of air created by the polar vortex that forms during Antarctic winter, enabling chemicals such as chlorine and bromine to deplete the ozone layer, according to Copernicus and NASA.

Ozone levels are usually restored to normal levels by December.

The ozone layer protects Earth from the harmful rays of the sun. However, this protective layer is threatened by industrial and other forms of pollution.

The thinning of the ozone layer, if left unchecked, will eventually expose humans to ultraviolet (UV) radiation from the sun, particularly the harmful UVB-type radiation, known to cause skin cancer and induce cataract formation.