Climate change: Experts are “ringing the bell” for dire consequences in the near future

It is known that the Earth's ozone layer provides a protective barrier against harmful sunlight.

A well-known hole in the ozone layer over Antarctica allows for a few months of the year UV rays to pass unfiltered into the atmosphere, a condition that is particularly harmful to health because UV rays are carcinogenic.

Researchers 'ring new alarm bells'

Now, researchers are sounding “new alarm bells” after discovering that the hole lasted several weeks longer than it did four years ago.

This means Antarctic wildlife, seals and penguins, are at greater risk of sunburn, while other plants and animals are also affected.

In particular, animals can get cancer from ultraviolet radiation, just like humans, although fur and feathers offer more protection.

NASA data

The new study was led by Sharon Robinson, a climate change biologist and Antarctic researcher at the University of Wollongong in Australia.

The researchers pointed to NASA data obtained from satellite instruments that monitor the ozone layer, and collected evidence of the effect of ultraviolet radiation on different species.

“If ozone holes are left open longer, animals that breed in summer around the vast Antarctic coast will be exposed to higher levels of reflected ultraviolet radiation,” Robinson and her colleagues say.

“More UV rays can pass through, which will be reflected back into the atmosphere especially easily, with the help of the surface of snow and ice.

The ozone hole does not stay the same size throughout the year, in fact, it opens and closes every year as the seasons and temperatures change.

Typically, the ozone hole opens around August and reaches its largest diameter around October before closing again in late November.

Fortunately, this is the time when most Antarctic animals and plants are protected by snow and sea ice.

Source: Daily Mail