Warning against ozone hole repair

The ozone "hole" discovered above the South Pole in the mid-1980s has long been seen as one of the world's biggest environmental threats but experts now suspect the phenomenon has actually shielded Antarctica from the worst effects of global warming. There are fears that with it closing up following international action to ban ozone-harming gases, Antarctica will warm at a far faster rate, leading to huge sea-level rises.

The study published tomorrow by scientists at Leeds University builds on work by an Antarctic researchers last year showing how ozone depletion has made the South Pole colder by causing stronger winds. The Leeds scientists have shown these winds are whipping up sea spray, creating denser clouds.

Report co-author Professor Ken Carslaw said: "These clouds have acted like a mirror to the sun's rays, reflecting its heat away. Warming from rising carbon emissions has effectively been cancelled out in this region. If, as seems likely, these winds die down, rising CO2 emissions could cause the warming of the southern hemisphere to accelerate."