IIT-Kharagpur study debunks claims of ‘severe ozone hole’ in tropics

A new study led by Jayanarayanan Kuttippurath, a senior professor at IIT-Kharagpur’s Centre for Ocean, River, Atmosphere, and Land Sciences (CORAL), has refuted previous claims of a ‘severe ozone hole’ in the tropical stratosphere. The research, titled “No Severe Ozone Depletion in the Tropical Stratosphere in Recent Decades,” analyzed 42 years of data, dismissing concerns about ozone depletion in the tropics and associated health threats.

Kuttippurath and his team examined ground-based ozonesonde and satellite data covering 1980–2022 and found no observational evidence to support earlier reports of an ozone hole in the tropics, which were said to potentially impact half of the world’s population. Their analysis showed that the amount of column ozone in the tropics is much smaller compared to higher latitudes and well above the critical threshold defining an ozone hole.

The study suggests that the slight decline in tropical ozone levels over the past decades is due to atmospheric dynamics rather than chemical depletion. Additionally, the unique conditions that contribute to ozone holes, such as extreme cold temperatures, are confined to Antarctica. This research, relying on extensive ground-based and satellite data, highlights that there is no threat of an ozone hole forming outside of Antarctica.