In the mid-1980s, scientists <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/315207a0"target="_blank" >published a startling finding</a>–a giant hole in the ozone layer over Antarctica. That’s the protective shield that blocks large amounts of harmful UV radiation. And without it, the rate of cancer, cataracts and crop failure would skyrocket. Today on the show, we dive into ozone science and examine how scientists successfully sounded the alarm and solved an Antarctic mystery. Check out our episode on an <a href="https://www.npr.org/2025/03/10/1237260294/research-plankton-climate-change-whales-antarctica-polar-fjord"target="_blank" >Antarctic plankton mystery</a>. And, listen to our <a href="https://www.npr.org/transcripts/1266983858"target="_blank" >monthly</a> <a href="https://www.npr.org/2025/04/22/1266983681/spring-flowers-earth-day-phenology"target="_blank" >series</a> <a href="https://www.npr.org/2025/09/30/nx-s1-5518203/ocean-climate-change-flood-sea-level"target="_blank" >Nature</a> <a href="https://www.npr.org/2025/05/27/1266983774/kids-climate-change-anxiety-family"target="_blank" >Quest</a>. Interested in more atmospheric science? Email us your question at <a href="mailto:shortwave@npr.org"target="_blank" >shortwave@npr.org</a>. Listen to every episode of Short Wave sponsor-free and support our work at NPR by signing up for Short Wave+ at <a href="http://plus.npr.org/shortwave"target="_blank" >plus.npr.org/shortwave</a>. This episode was produced by Berly McCoy. It was edited by Rebecca Ramirez. Tyler Jones checked the facts. The audio engineer was Becky Brown. Learn more about sponsor message choices: <a href="https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices">podcastchoices.com/adchoices</a> <a href="https://www.npr.org/about-npr/179878450/privacy-policy">NPR Privacy Policy</a>

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The ozone layer is still healing…thanks to science

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