Scientists Discover Large, All-Season Ozone Hole Over Tropics, 7 Times Larger Than Antarctic Hole

Scientists discovered an all-season ozone hole in lower stratosphere above tropics that is equivalent in-depth to well-known springtime Antarctic hole but nearly seven times larger in size. The measured findings accord well with cosmic-ray-driven electron reaction (CRE) hypothesis and strongly suggest that both Antarctic and tropical ozone holes are caused by the same physical process. An all-season ozone hole is described as a region of ozone loss greater than 25%.