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Always thought CFCs were to blame for the Ozone depleting.

LOL... now, we're giving Penguins CATARACTS.

Well! I'm out... no more CO² output from ME!

I will now pitch in for millions of tiny sunglasses.

Let's do it for the penguins!

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Could Climate Change Give Penguins Cataracts? Scientists Investigate Impact of Longer Ozone Holes

"The biggest thing we can do to help Antarctica is to act on climate change," scientists say.

Antarctic animals are at risk of being "sunburnt" as the ozone hole opens for longer, scientists have warned, and climate change 
could be to blame.

As if the impact of global heating on sea ice weren't bad enough, penguins, seals and other wildlife are also being exposed to 
harmful ultraviolet (UV) radiation during their summer.

Ozone gas forms a protective layer in the Earth's upper stratosphere. The realisation that some chemicals - primarily 
chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) used as refrigerants - were depleting it led to a major intervention in 1987: the Montreal Protocol.

It is widely considered to be the world's most successful environmental treaty, and UN experts say the ozone layer is on track to 
recover within decades.
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But climate change could disrupt that healing journey. The "hole" that opens over Antarctica every year has, for the last few 
years, been closing later than usual.

Animals and plants are paying the price, according to a new study published in the journal Global Change Biology, which explores 
their different coping strategies.
Why is the ozone hole staying open for longer?

The ozone layer over Antarctica wears thin every Southern Hemisphere spring, as the climatic conditions - extreme low 
temperature, high atmospheric clouds - are ripe for ozone-eating chemical reactions to occur.

This annual event typically peaks in September and October and patches up during November. But since 2020, the ozone holes have 
been closing later, around mid to late December.
In this NASA image, the blue and purple shows the hole in Earth's protective ozone layer over Antarctica on 30 October,2023.
In this NASA image, the blue and purple shows the hole in Earth's protective ozone layer over Antarctica on 30 October,2023.NASA 
via AP

This has been due to colder than average stratospheric temperatures and a strong polar vortex (circulation of strong winds) 
lasting for longer, the EU's atmosphere monitoring service said last year.

Scientists are still figuring out exactly what's causing this stronger polar vortex, but it bears the fingerprints of climate 
change.

The new study points to the amount of particles released during the catastrophic Australian wildfire season of 2019-2020, fuelled 
by climate change. A quarter of the country's temperate forests went up in smoke, killing or displacing three billion animals.

The La Soufrière and Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha"apai volcanic eruptions in 2021 and 2022 - which injected huge amounts of water vapour 
into the stratosphere - could also have contributed to the larger hole sizes in recent years.
Related

Drought, food shortages and deadly heat: El Nino has ended but its impacts are still being felt

How are Antarctic animals reacting to the UV exposure?

In spring, most land-based plants and animals are shielded by snow cover, while marine life is protected by extensive sea ice. 
But with the ozone hole lasting into the Antarctic summer, creatures are being exposed to damaging UV-B rays.

These rays increase the risk of cancer and cataracts in humans, and could cause similar eye damage for penguins and seals. This 
is likely their most vulnerable body part, as outer coverings of fur and feathers reflect UV radiation or act as a barrier, the 
study explains.

The researchers gathered together the latest research on how UV is impacting polar life.

Antarctic mosses, for example, are synthesising their own kind of sunscreen compounds. This might sound remarkably resilient but, 
as co-author and climate change biologist Professor Sharon Robinson told BBC News, "There's always a cost to sun protection." 

"If they're putting energy into sunscreen, they're putting less energy into growing," she said.
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Krill - the tiny, abundant marine creatures at the bottom of the Antarctic food chain - appear to be moving deeper into the ocean 
to avoid UV rays. This could hit the whales, seals, penguins and other seabirds that feed on them.

"We also know that the phytoplankton that the krill feed on will have to make sunscreens in order to avoid damage," Prof Robinson 
said.

The start of summer is peak breeding season for many animals, and so extreme UV-B exposure may come at a vulnerable time in their 
life cycle, the study points out.

It makes the case that UV impacts need to be looked at in combination with other effects of climate change - particularly 
shrinking sea ice.

"The biggest thing we can do to help Antarctica is to act on climate change," Prof Robinson added. Namely, "reduce carbon 
emissions as quickly as possible so we have fewer bushfires and don't put additional pressure on ozone layer recovery."
 

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April:

Impressive CA Snowpack

Spring Snow For Sask

Bumper Snowpack For New England

Late-Season Storm Hits Saskatchewan

UK Government to Fund Sun-Dimming Experiments

Iceland's Potato Harvest Hit By Cold, Wet

Pacific Cooling

Canadian Politics Ditches Climate Hype In Search For Votes

Alps See Record-Breaking Late-Season Snowfall

Arizona Snowbowl Buried

Historic April Snowfall Hits Northern India

Global Sea Ice Uptick

Heavy Spring Snow Hits Northern Spain

Alps Slammed By More Late-Season Snow

100% Losses In Southern Ukraine

New Study Finds Antarctica Glacier Growth

Ireland's Peaks Dusted

Rare April Snow Damages Orchards In Iran

Accumulations For The Northeast

Historic Late-Season Snowstorms Bury The Alps

Rare April Snow Blankets Portugal's Peaks

Solid Snow Year Across U.S. Resorts

Turkey's Crops Crippled By Deep Freeze
Cold Snap Persists In South Korea
China Blizzards
Cold Front Batters Northern China
Seoul Sees First Mid-April Snow Since 1907
April Snow Sweeps Ukraine
Cyprus White With Snow
Spring Snow Hits Ukraine
Tenerife Dusted
Iceland Shivers
U.S. Resorts Blanketed From Tahoe to New England
Mexico Chills
Early Winter For New Zealand
Spring Freeze Grips Eastern Europe
Canada's Record April Cold
Early Winter Across Antarctica
Moscow Snow Reaches January Levels
Toronto Freezes
Greenland Spikes
Cold Kills: The Amazon's Real Climate Threat
Snowstorm And Deep Freeze Sweep Bulgaria
Albania Hit
Turkey Blanketed
Greece Digs Out
Big Gains On Greenland
Record April Snow For New Mexico And Texas
It's Snowing In Kosovo
Spring Blizzards Hit Moscow
Stellar Snow Year At Mt. Bachelor
A Snowpack Above Average
Seasonal Cold Forces Ukraine to Burn Through Remaining Gas Reserves
Sixth Straight Day Below -70C
are Spring Snow On Madeira
Spring Blizzard Slams Northeast, Midwest, West, And Canada Also Hit
Vostok At -73C
Heavy Snow Pounds Hits Italian Peaks
Spring Snow Slams North America
Ice Storm Cuts Power To 400,000+ In Ontario
Record Cold Streak In Antarctica
Spring Delayed as Snow Blankets Otarou
Flurries In Norway
Record-Breaking Cold Grips Antarctica
April Cold And Snow For U.S.