Antarctic Wildlife Is Being Sunburnt. Scientists Say It's A "Wake-Up Call"

The seals and penguins living in the Antarctica are at greater risk of getting sunburnt after being exposed to cancer-causing ultraviolet rays from the Sun due to a hole in the ozone layer that acts as a protective barrier in Earth's upper atmosphere, a study has said. The hole usually exists over the Antarctic for a few months, but researchers have warned that it is lingering over the continent for more than a year. The study has been published in the journal Global Change Biology.

University of Wollongong climate change biologist Prof Sharon Robinson expressed concern about the continuation of the hole in the protective layer of ozone.

"When I tell people I work on the ozone hole, they go: 'oh, isn't that better now?'" she told the BBC.

The outlet further said that a major cause of ozone loss is believed to be the amount of smoke from unprecedented Australian wildfires, which were triggered by wildfires.

The ozone hole over Antarctica was first discovered in 1985 and CFCs or chlorofluorocarbons were identified as the factors responsible for that. In 1987, all the countries agreed to phase out the ozone-depleting chemicals, and it resulted in Montreal Protocol.

The ozone layer started healing, but the occurrence of the hole every year over Antarctica - an area where the gas layer is very depleted - had concerned environmentalists.

Also Read | World Record Temperature Jump In Antarctica Sparks Concern

The ozone hole doesn't stay the same size throughout the year - in fact, it opens up and closes annually as the seasons and temperatures change. 

Usually, the ozone hole opens up around August and reaches its widest extent around October before closing again in late November.

But experts have found that it is lasting longer, stretching into the Antarctic summer when the species are most vulnerable.

The ultraviolet radiation from the Sun increase the risk of skin cancer and cataracts in humans, but researchers do not yet know if the same is true for Antarctic mammals and birds.

"But probably the biggest risk to the Antarctic animals is eye damage," said Professor Robinson.

And the change is also affecting the vegetation that grows in the Antarctica, like krill, which has moved deeper into ocean to avoid UV rays, affecting the food intake of seals, penguins and other seabirds that feed on them.

Scientists say that the record duration of the Antarctic ozone hole is "a wake-up call". They have proposed some climate-cooling experiments to limit the impact of climate change on Antarctica's atmosphere.