Climate Impacts and Potential Drivers of the Unprecedented Antarctic Ozone Holes of 2020 and 2021

The latter months of 2020 and 2021 were marked by two of the largest Antarctic ozone holes on record. That such large ozone holes occurred despite ongoing ozone recovery raises questions about their origins and climate impacts. Here we provide novel evidence that supports the hypothesis that the ozone holes were influenced by two distinct and extraordinary events: the Australian wildfires of early 2020 and the eruption of La Soufriere in 2021. We further reveal that both ozone holes were associated with widespread changes in Southern Hemisphere climate that are consistent with the established climate impacts of Antarctic ozone depletion, including a strengthening of the polar stratospheric vortex, enhanced surface westerlies over the Southern Ocean, and surface temperature changes over Antarctica and Australia. The results thus provide suggestive evidence that injections of both wildfire smoke and volcanic emissions into the stratosphere can lead to hemispheric-scale changes in surface climate.

Automated summary

The largest two ozone holes in Antarctica in late 2020 and 2021 were influenced by Australian wildfires and the eruption of La Soufriere. The climate impacts of the ozone holes included a strengthening of the polar stratospheric vortex, enhanced surface westerlies over the Southern Ocean, and surface temperature changes over Antarctica and Australia.