Ozone hole has caused southern African summers to grow warmer

Nature : A link has been established between the ozone hole over Antarctica and summer warming in southern Africa. Desmond Manatsa of Bindura University of Science in Zimbabwe and colleagues analyzed data gathered between 1979 and 2010, both before and after the development of the ozone hole, which was caused by human-produced atmospheric greenhouse gases. Multiple studies had already shown that the ozone hole has affected climates all over the lower latitudes of the Southern Hemisphere, including Antarctica, New Zealand, Patagonia, and Australia. What Manatsa and colleagues found was that southern Africa was experiencing higher summer temperatures than expected from the effects of climate change. They propose that because the ozone hole fluctuates in size over the course of the year, it causes seasonal variations in temperature and rainfall. Since the ban on the use of chlorofluorocarbons in 1987, however, the ozone hole has begun to show signs of shrinking and might disappear entirely by 2065. If so, the climate in that area of the world will almost certainly be affected—and perhaps southern African summers will begin to cool back down.