Smallest and shortest-lived ozone hole in 5 years closes – Copernicus

Report on the 2025 Antarctic Ozone Hole and Implications for Sustainable Development Goals

Executive Summary

The Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS) has confirmed the closure of the 2025 Antarctic ozone hole on November 30. The data indicates a significant positive trend in atmospheric health, marking the earliest closure since 2019 and the smallest ozone hole in five years. This development represents a substantial contribution to several United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly those concerning health, climate action, and biodiversity.

Key Observational Findings for 2025

• Closure Date: The ozone hole concluded on November 30, 2025, the earliest date recorded since 2019.
• Size and Duration: The hole was the smallest and shortest-lived in the last five years, contrasting with the large and persistent holes observed from 2020-2023.
• Ozone Concentration: Higher concentrations of ozone were recorded, fueling optimism for the continued recovery of the ozone layer.
• Positive Trend: This marks the second consecutive year of a relatively small and short-lived ozone hole, suggesting a strengthening recovery trend.

Contribution to Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

The recovery of the ozone layer, as evidenced by the 2025 data, directly supports the achievement of multiple SDGs:

1. SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being: A strengthening ozone layer provides a more effective shield against harmful ultraviolet (UV) radiation. This directly contributes to global health by reducing the incidence of skin cancer, cataracts, and other UV-related health conditions.
2. SDG 13: Climate Action: The successful international cooperation under the Montreal Protocol, which regulates ozone-depleting substances, serves as a powerful model for global climate agreements. The phasing out of these substances, many of which are also potent greenhouse gases, has provided significant co-benefits for climate change mitigation.
3. SDG 14 (Life Below Water) and SDG 15 (Life on Land): Reduced UV radiation protects terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. This helps preserve biodiversity by safeguarding phytoplankton, which forms the base of marine food webs, and protecting terrestrial plants and animals from DNA damage.
4. SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals: The positive trend is a direct result of global scientific collaboration and policy implementation. Services like CAMS exemplify the partnerships required to monitor environmental progress and provide the data necessary for informed action, underpinning the entire 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

Analysis and Future Outlook

The 2025 Antarctic ozone hole data provides compelling evidence of the effectiveness of concerted global action in addressing environmental challenges. The findings reinforce scientific models predicting the gradual healing of the ozone layer and highlight the importance of sustained international commitment to environmental protocols. Continued monitoring remains critical to ensure this recovery stays on track and contributes to a sustainable and healthy planet for future generations, in line with the objectives of the SDGs.

1. Which SDGs are addressed or connected to the issues highlighted in the article?

1. SDG 13: Climate Action

   • The article discusses the monitoring of the Antarctic ozone hole, a critical component of the Earth’s atmosphere. The protection and recovery of the ozone layer are integral to broader efforts to combat climate change and its impacts. The Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS) provides data that is essential for understanding atmospheric changes, which directly supports actions related to climate.

2. SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being

   • The ozone layer protects life on Earth from harmful ultraviolet (UV) radiation from the sun. A depleted ozone layer can lead to increased rates of skin cancer, eye cataracts, and other health issues. The article’s positive news about the ozone hole being smaller and closing earlier, which “fuels hopes for recovery,” is directly linked to safeguarding human health from environmental hazards.

3. SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals

   • The article is based on data from the “Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS),” a component of the European Union’s Earth observation programme. This service represents a large-scale, data-driven partnership involving multiple agencies and countries to monitor the global environment. Such collaborations are essential for gathering the reliable data needed to address global challenges like ozone depletion and climate change.

2. What specific targets under those SDGs can be identified based on the article’s content?

1. Under SDG 13: Climate Action

   • Target 13.2: Integrate climate change measures into national policies, strategies and planning. Although the article doesn’t mention specific policies, the monitoring it describes is a fundamental prerequisite for creating, implementing, and evaluating the effectiveness of such policies (like the Montreal Protocol, which governs ozone-depleting substances). The observed recovery is a direct result of these integrated global policies.

2. Under SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being

   • Target 3.9: By 2030, substantially reduce the number of deaths and illnesses from hazardous chemicals and air, water and soil pollution and contamination. The recovery of the ozone layer leads to a reduction in harmful UV radiation, which is a form of environmental hazard. Therefore, progress in closing the ozone hole contributes directly to preventing illnesses and achieving this target.

3. Under SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals

   • Target 17.16: Enhance the global partnership for sustainable development, complemented by multi-stakeholder partnerships that mobilize and share knowledge, expertise, technology and financial resources, to support the achievement of the sustainable development goals in all countries. CAMS is a prime example of such a partnership in action.
   • Target 17.18: By 2020, enhance capacity-building support to developing countries… to increase significantly the availability of high-quality, timely and reliable data disaggregated by… geographic location and other characteristics relevant in national contexts. The service provided by CAMS directly fulfills this target by making timely and reliable atmospheric data available to the global community.

3. Are there any indicators mentioned or implied in the article that can be used to measure progress towards the identified targets?

1. Yes, the article explicitly mentions several physical indicators used to measure the state of the ozone layer, which in turn measure the success of the policies and partnerships aimed at its recovery.

   • Size of the ozone hole: The article states the 2025 ozone hole was the “smallest in five years,” providing a direct quantitative measure of improvement.
   • Duration of the ozone hole: The article notes its “earliest closure since 2019” and confirms it came to an “end on 30 November.” This temporal measurement is a key indicator of atmospheric recovery.
   • Ozone concentration: The article mentions that the ozone hole “had higher ozone concentrations,” which is a direct chemical measurement indicating a healthier and more robust ozone layer.

4. Create a table with three columns titled ‘SDGs, Targets and Indicators” to present the findings from analyzing the article.

Source: atmosphere.copernicus.eu