Scientists Warn, Antarctic Ozone Hole, Is 'Larger Than Usual'.br According to scientists, the Southern Hemisphere ozone hole is larger than usual, already surpassing the size of Antarctica.br On September 16, the European Union’s br Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service said that br the ozone hole has grown considerably in the past week.br NBC News reports that the hole in the ozone appears every br year during the Southern Hemisphere's spring.br Forecasts show that this year´s hole has evolved into a rather larger than usual one, Vincent-Henri Peuch, Heads of the Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service, via NBC News.br We are looking at a quite big and potentially also deep ozone hole, Vincent-Henri Peuch, Heads of the Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service, via NBC News.br Atmospheric ozone absorbs br ultraviolet light coming from the sun.br Without the atmosphere's protection, more br of this high-energy radiation reaches br Earth, where it can harm living cells.br Peuch noted that last year’s ozone hole became br one of the longest-lasting ones on record.br NBC News reports that the 1987 Montreal Protocol banned a group of chemicals called halocarbons, blamed br for accelerating the annual ozone hole.