NATION : ‘Strong’ Ozone Hole in Antarctic

WASHINGTON — Scientists analyzing data from a satellite are reporting the development of a hole in Earth’s ozone layer over the Antarctic that may equal the record-setting gap observed in 1987, NASA said today.

A buildup of industrial pollutants is blamed for the damage to the planet’s protective layer. The ozone layer protects Earth’s surface from the dangerous ultraviolet rays of the sun.

Using an ozone-mapping spectrometer aboard NASA’s Nimbus 7 satellite, the scientists determined “through mid-September, the ozone hole of 1989 was very similar to the strong ozone hole recorded in 1987,” the space agency said.