The coming weeks could bring the most severe thinning of the ozone layer over northern Europe since records began.
The conditions are being driven by unusual weather in the high atmosphere above the Arctic, says the European Ozone Research Coordinating Unit.
The stratosphere, where the ozone layer lies, has seen its coldest winter for 50 years; there have also been an unusually large number of clouds.
These factors hasten the rate at which man-made chemicals destroy ozone.
"The meteorological conditions we are now witnessing resemble and even surpass the conditions of the 1999-2000 winter, when the worst ozone loss to date was observed," said Dr Neil Harris, from the Cambridge University-based unit.
more....
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/4217329.stm