DESTRUCTION of the earth's ozone layer is worsening, with the ozone practically destroyed in one part of the atmosphere, the United Nations weather agency said yesterday.
"We're looking at a possible new record" for ozone destruction, said Ms Eirah Dale Gore, spokeswoman for the World Meteorological Organisation.
Based on data from monitoring stations in the Antarctic, the WMO measures the amount of ozone depletion during September and October.
Ozone destruction "is becoming worse ... especially when the stratospheric temperatures are very low," said Dr Rumen Bojkov, WMO's adviser on ozone.
Ozone, a gas in the stratosphere, plays a key role in shielding humans, animals and plants from the dangerous forms of ultraviolet radiation. Its depletion, caused in large part by industrial chemicals, is believed to increase the incidence of skin cancer and cataracts.
The hole, first observed in the Antarctic in the 1980s, has reappeared each autumn since then.
The size of the ozone hole has doubled each of the previous four years. It is now estimated at 3.9 million square miles - roughly the size of Europe.