The hole in the ozone layer over Antarctica, largely caused by human activities, continues to dwindle, according to an article published Thursday, June 30 in the American journal Science whose lead author is Susan Solomon , professor of chemistry and climate science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). According to the researchers, it has decreased by more than 4 million km2, or about half of the US area, since 2000.

This study, which is based on measurements taken in September, during the austral spring, for the last fifteen years, also reveals for the first time a temporary pause in this process in October 2015, due to an eruption of the Calbuco volcano in southern Chile six months earlier.