Hole in Ozone layer has shrunk by more than 700,000 square miles since last year

The hole in the ozone layer over the South Pole has shrunk by 700,000 square miles, NASA has revealed.

The progress of the hole - which has shrunk by an amount equating to the size of the state of Texas in just one year - has given hope to scientists studying its development.

The ozone layer is a thin layer of the Earth's atmosphere that absorbs the sun's ultraviolet rays. When there is a hole in the ozone, these rays are able to hit Earth.

Essentially, the ozone layer blocks the harmful ultraviolet radiation from affecting humans or other living creatures on the planet.

It is believed that the progress in the size of the hole is the result of the ban on ozone-depleting chemicals, known as The Montreal Protocol.

Introduced in 1987, its aim was to phase out the damaging substances such as chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) - once found in fridges and spray cans - that had been increasing the size of the hole over many years.

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"Without ozone, the Sun’s intense UV radiation would sterilize the Earth’s surface," NASA explains.

"With a weakening of this shield, more intense UV-B and UV-A radiation exposure at the surface would lead to quicker sunburns, skin cancer, and even reduced crop yields in plants."

Speaking about the shrinking of the hole in the ozone, Paul Newman, chief scientist for Earth sciences at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center has confirmed that the Protocol has contributed to the shrinking of the hole.

"Over time, steady progress is being made, and the hole is getting smaller," he said.

"We see some wavering as weather changes and other factors make the numbers wiggle slightly from day to day and week to week.

"But overall, we see it decreasing through the past two decades. The elimination of ozone-depleting substances through the Montreal Protocol is shrinking the hole."

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Some scientists had been concerned this year that the January 2022 eruption of the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai volcano could have had a significant impact on the stratosphere, but it seems no impacts have been detected at present.

While progress has certainly been made, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has predicted that the Antarctic hole in the ozone layer may not fully recover until 'sometime around 2070'.

Until then, it will be monitored using 3-D imaging technology by Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS).