We recently received a news article about the ultraviolet radiation in Antarctica. August & September have always been the months when the ozone hole is at its maximum. The article said that this year the area of the ozone hole was a largest ever on record and covered the entire continent and also some parts of Australia and South America. The depth of the ozone hole was also maximum. At places, the ozone had totally disappeared. This maxima was observed on 24 Sept 08. This was disturbing news for all of us, more since the duration of sunlight is increasing rapidly and so are our outdoor activities. During the convoys, the sun shines right on our faces for the entire journey of 16 hours from the station to the ice shelf. It is now advisable to wear UV protective glasses and apply a generous layer of sunscreen lotion on the exposed parts of our bodies, more so the faces. Now a days, the days being still very cold, our faces are covered with balaclava, but still one is tempted to lower ones guard on bright, sunny, windless days. We also tend to remove sunglasses on cloudy days. This is dangerous since UV rays are still present inspite of the clouds.
We still have a long time ahead of us in Antarctica. So it is certainly advisable to take utmost precautions while working outdoors.
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