Currently the ozone hole over the south pole is the largest it's ever been: over 28 million square kilometers in size. This is three times larger than the land mass of the entire United States.

That's a pretty big area for UV-2 radiation to come in through... expect increased reports of skin cancers in the southern hemisphere.

And should anyone ask, before they do so: at this time I do not know the status of the ozone hole over the north pole, other than generally it's smaller than the one over the south pole.

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Anakin
[monger=ff0000,ffffff]Holonet Jedi Master[/monger]
Forum Administrator

The larger hole is not "letting more sunlight in to melt the caps." The caps are melting because of warming trends, and ozone production is therefore slowed. With the simultaneous destruction of existing ozone by the action of CFCs, the "hole" thus grows larger as there is less and less ozone in the upper atmosphere.

And, speaking of: did you know that ozone in the troposphere is actually poisonous, a greenhouse gas, and considered a pollutant?