The World - News from Feb. 16, 1989

The same destructive process that opened a hole in the Earth’s protective ozone layer over Antarctica is operating in the Arctic, the head of Canada’s ozone research team said. Dr. Wayne Evans said there was a “crater” of ozone depletion over Scandinavia during the first week of February. The result of a thinner ozone layer is increased penetration of the sun’s ultraviolet radiation, leading to increased skin cancer, eye damage and damage to crops. The Canadian research team, operating in the Northwest Territories, discovered some ozone depletion in the Arctic in 1986. The ozone problem first gained wide attention in 1985 when British scientists discovered a 40% loss in springtime ozone levels centered over Antarctica.