Question

What ozone layer depletion over antarctica but not arctic?

Answer 1

The severe depletion of the Antarctic ozone layer known as the “ozone hole” occurs because of the special atmospheric and chemical conditions that exist there and nowhere else on the globe. The very low winter temperatures in the Antarctic stratosphere cause polar stratospheric clouds (PSCs) to form.

Answer 2

Temperatures frequently drop below -112ºF. Antarctica is also one of the windiest places on Earth. In May and June, strong winds in the stratosphere begin to blow clockwise around the continent. These howling stratospheric winds gradually form an enormous ring of moving air, called the Antarctic polar vortex, that swirls around and around, far above the frozen land….

During the winter, temperatures inside the Antarctic polar vortex fall so low that water vapor and several other types of molecules in the stratosphere condense into extremely small icy particles. These icy particles, in turn, make up polar stratospheric clouds (PSCs). When the sun sets in the Antarctic around the end of March each year, its disappearance marks the beginning of a long, dark winter. Once the last rays of sunlight have faded away, temperatures on land and in the air fall very quickly.