Exceptional loss in ozone in the Arctic winter/spring of 2019/2020
2021
Abstract. Severe vortex-wide ozone loss in the Arctic would expose both
ecosystems and several millions of people to unhealthy ultraviolet
radiation. Adding to these worries, and extreme events as the harbingers of
climate change, exceptionally low ozone with column values below 220 DU
occurred over the Arctic in March and April 2020. Sporadic occurrences of
low ozone with less than 220 DU at different regions of the vortex for almost
3 weeks were found for the first time in the observed history in the
Arctic. Furthermore, a large ozone loss of about 2.0–3.4 ppmv triggered by
an unprecedented chlorine activation (1.5–2.2 ppbv) matching the levels
occurring in the Antarctic was also observed. The polar processing situation
led to the first-ever appearance of loss saturation in the Arctic. Apart
from these, there were also ozone-mini holes in December 2019 and January 2020 driven by atmospheric dynamics. The large loss in ozone in the colder
Arctic winters is intriguing and demands rigorous monitoring of the region.
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