The colder the winter high above the South Pole, the more ozone destroyed in the spring. Since the area around the North Pole isn't as cold as in the Antarctic, less ozone destruction goes on in the Arctic. But, this winter was unusually cold in the Arctic, allowing some ozone destruction but not as much as over the Antarctic. The good news is that the international treaties that restrict use of ozone-destroying substances seem to be working. Scientists have measured smaller amounts of them in the air at lower levels.
Scientists expect to see smaller Antarctic ozone holes beginning some time in the next few years.
All of this is very complicated. If you click here you'll go to our ozone index, which has links to a lot more information. The second edition of the book, with updated information about ozone and a lot of other things, should be in bookstores this month. I am an 8th grade student at Spring Forest Middle School. In my science class we are working on ozone depletion .