1995 UN Ozone report
GENEVA (AP) -- The hole in the earth's ozone layer is growing faster than ever and is already twice the size it was this time last year, the U.N. weather agency said Tuesday. Ozone, a gas in the stratosphere, prevents harmful ultraviolet radiation from reaching the earth. Its depletion, caused in large part by industrial chemicals, is believed to increase the incidence of skin cancer and cataracts. The hole, first observed over Antarctica in the 1980s, has reappeared each September and October since then. With the onset of winter in the polar region, temperatures plung in the stratosphere and hasten ozone depletion. The hole is getting bigger despite a reduction in ozone-destroying chemicals such s chlorine and bromine because these chemicals have a life of 60 to 100 years. So far the hole has expanded to 3.9 million square miles -- roughly the size of Europe -- according to the World Meteorological Organization. At that rate, the hole could surpass the record 24