Ozone Hole Shrinks Yet Recovery Slowed by Rising Extreme Weather, WMO Reports
The World Meteorological Organization says the ozone hole is markedly smaller than in past decades, but its recovery is slower than expected, partly due to extreme weather linked to climate change.
The World Meteorological Organization’s newest ozone and UV bulletin reports that the atmospheric ozone hole is considerably smaller than its typical size between 1990 and 2020, marking the second consecutive year of positive change. Nonetheless, the pace of healing is slower than scientists had anticipated, according to UCLA professor Suzanne Paulson, who stresses that annual variations can mask long-term trends. In 2025 the ozone minimum occurred unusually early, in September, after a rapid expansion in early September, a pattern linked to a strong Arctic winter vortex that depressed ozone levels across a swath from Greenland and Europe to Central Asia, Japan and Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula.
Laurence Rouil, director of the Copernicus Atmospheric Monitoring Service, underscored the importance of high-quality data to track these complex interactions. Both researchers warn that intensifying climate change may produce more extreme weather events, potentially hindering further ozone recovery.
Why it matters
A slower-healing ozone layer leaves people more exposed to harmful UV rays, affecting health and climate resilience worldwide.
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