October 20, 2006 2:31 PM PDT
NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) released a joint report that the ozone hole over the South Pole is at its worst.
Aura satellite data showed that the hole was an average of 10.6 million square miles between Sept. 21 and 30 of this year. That is roughly larger than North America and the largest average ever recorded.
The data is in agreement with the 2006 World Meteorological Organization/United Nations Environment Programme Scientific Assessment of Ozone Depletion that despite the Montreal Protocol, an international agreement to reduce the world's ozone-depleting gases, the ozone layer will not completely recover from past pollution until about 2065.
This image was taken on Sept. 24. The blue and purple colors represent areas where there is the least ozone. Greens and yellows indicate places with more ozone.
Photo by NASA
