Ozone hole shrinks to lowest since 1998: Report

The hole in the earth's ozone layer has shrunk to its lowest since 1998, a report in the Washington Post stated.

Scientists say that the global efforts since the mid-1980s to ban the emission of ozone-depleting chemicals are the main reason for the ozone hole shrinking, the report said.

Scientists attribute the decline to the Montreal protocol, an agreement between 24 nations that led to major global efforts to phase out the production of substances that are responsible for the depletion of the ozone layer.

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The decrease in size can also be attributed to the above than normal warm conditions in the stratosphere which have helped to remove the chlorine and bromine that eat away at the ozone layer, the report quoted scientists as saying.

The news, infact, comes just after the 30th anniversary of the hole's discovery, which led to the 1987 Montreal Protocol, the Washington Post report says.