On Feb. 8 the European Space Agency (ESA) announced the hole in the ozone layer has shrunk to its smallest size in the past decade.

In addition, the ESA's observations reveal that Earth's ozone has been strengthening following international agreements to protect it. These agreements, particularly the Montreal Protocol, have successfully stopped the increase of CFC concentrations since mid 1990s.


According to the ESA it may take up to the middle of the century for the ozone concentrations to rebound to 1960's levels. However, the hole in the ozone over Antarctica is set to heal at a faster rate. ESA estimates that the whole should completely close in the next few decades.

Ozone layer studies are conducted using Europe’s MetOp weather satellite, the second device tasked with monitoring the atmospheric ozone. The first one was the ERS-2 and Evisat Satellites.

For the entire story visit ESA.int