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NASA, NOAA say 2026 Antarctic ozone hole was seventh-largest on record
ScienceDaily, citing NASA and NOAA, reported the 2026 Antarctic ozone hole averaged about 9.6 million square miles at peak season, ranking seventh-largest in 48 years of monitoring.
- New headline Was: “NASA reveals Earth's ozone hole has grown to a size not seen in a decade”
- Our desk filed its story
The Antarctic ozone hole in 2026 ranked as the seventh-largest in 48 years of observations by average seasonal area, NASA and NOAA scientists said, according to ScienceDaily1.
From Sept. 7 to Oct. 13, when depletion was at its seasonal peak, the hole covered an average of about 9.6 million square miles, more than twice the size of the United States, ScienceDaily reported1. It reached a maximum of 10.5 million square miles on Sept. 18, about 90% of the largest hole measured, on Sept. 9, 20001.
Scientists attributed the expansion mainly to an exceptionally strong polar vortex over Antarctica, the report said1. They also said international limits on ozone-destroying chemicals kept the hole from growing larger still1.
Paul Newman, a University of Maryland senior scientist who leads NASA ozone research at Goddard Space Flight Center, told ScienceDaily that later seasonal formation in recent years indicates the ozone layer is healing1. "The annual ozone hole has been forming later in the season in recent years, which tells us the ozone layer is healing," Newman said1. He said a powerful polar vortex this season extended depletion to sizes not seen in a decade1.
NASA and NOAA said Earth's stratospheric ozone layer, which shields living organisms from solar radiation, is continuing a gradual recovery and remains on track to heal later this century, according to ScienceDaily1. The account was dated Nov. 11, 2026, and credited NOAA as the source of the underlying release1.