Antarctic Ozone hole shrinks 30 percent

The ozone hole over Antarctica shrank by 30 percent this year compared with the record loss recorded in 2006, the European Space Agency (ESA) said.

Measurements made by the agency's Envisat satellite found a peak loss in the ozone layer of 27.7 million tons, compared to 40 mln tons last year, ESA said in a press release. Ozone layer in the stratosphere filters out dangerous ultraviolet sunlight that damages vegetation and can cause skin cancer and cataracts. However studies reveal that the protectively layer has been badly damaged by man-made chlorine-based chemicals. In 2006, the ozone hole - in essence a thinning of the layer - at its biggest measured 10.81 mln sq. miles; in 2007, it was 9.53 mln sq. miles, or roughly the size of North America.

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