Massive Australian wildfires caused new damage to the ozone layer
Smoke particles caused a drop in chlorine-binding chemicals that set back the ozone layer’s recovery by 10 years
Smoke from immense wildfires, which are projected to become more frequent because of climate change, can reach high into the upper atmosphere and damage the ozone layer, according to a new study. The researchers say the massive pillars of smoke above the huge wildfires in Australia in late 2019 and early 2020 – what’s called the ‘Black Summer’ – injected over 1 million tonnes of smoke particles as high as 35km into the atmosphere, and caused chemical reactions that set back the recovery of stratospheric ozone by about 10 years.