Deadly wildfires are making new hole in the ozone layer, scientists warn

Australia’s wildfire smoke caused a 1 per cent loss in ozone, scientists find

Smoke from raging wildfires is destroying the ozone layer, researchers find (Reuters)

Towers of smoke from Australia’s “black summer” bushfires have resulted in a depletion of the ozone layer, a new study has found.

The continent’s wildfires in 2019-20 blazed across more than 43 million acres of land and emanated over 1 million tons of smoke particles in the atmosphere, according to Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

Researchers at MIT estimated that this significant level of smoke has caused a 1 per cent loss in ozone.