The Young Global Citizen Daily

High above Earth, a thin layer of ozone absorbs ultraviolet light from the Sun. That light can damage the DNA of plants and animals and cause sunburn and skin cancer. Over Antarctica, the ozone layer thins every spring, and scientists call the thin patch a “hole”. NASA reported on Monday that the 2026 hole reached its largest area on 18 September.

It ranked seventh largest by area in 48 years of monitoring, but was shallower than several other big holes. An unusually strong polar vortex, a ring of fast winds around Antarctica, created conditions that favour ozone loss over a large area. No area is completely empty of ozone. The hole is the region where ozone falls below 220 Dobson Units.

The hole was first reported in 1985, when British Antarctic Survey scientists using ground measurements at Halley Research Station reported spring ozone thinning over Antarctica. NASA satellites later showed its continental scale. Ozone over Antarctica was already as low as 124 Dobson Units in 1985. It first fell below 100 in 1991, and the deepest hole on record, 73 Dobson Units, came on 30 September 1994.

The cause is chemicals called CFCs, once used in refrigerators and aerosol sprays. Ultraviolet light breaks them apart high up, releasing chlorine that repeatedly destroys ozone. The 1987 Montreal Protocol phased out these chemicals. Scientists estimate the Antarctic ozone layer will return to 1980 levels in the 2070s.

There are signs of progress. In 2018, scientists reported the first direct satellite evidence of recovery, with ozone depletion during Antarctic winter months about 20 percent lower in 2016 than in 2005. Year-to-year changes depend on stratospheric temperature and circulation: colder conditions produce larger holes with lower ozone in their cores.

Midterm elections happen halfway through a president’s term, and this year’s were on 3 November. By early Wednesday, Democrats had regained the House of Representatives, with a 228-139 lead and several races still undecided, according to the New York Times and AP. AP reported they flipped seven Senate seats for a 54-44 majority, with two races undecided.

That ends Republican control of the White House, the Senate and the House at once. Representative Hakeem Jeffries, the Democratic leader, is in line to become Speaker. Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer called the result a “generational remake of the Senate map.” President Donald Trump said he has veto power and would stay open to working with Congress.

In a Sunday interview on 60 Minutes, Trump said voters “didn’t like the war” with Iran, and that his immigration enforcement was “too tough”. Meanwhile, in Alaska, Democrat Mary Peltola leads Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan by a couple of hundred votes, and counting continues.