The ozone hole above Antarctic extended to 8.2 million sq. miles in September this year, NASA and the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has announced.

The Antarctic ozone hole reached its peak size on 22nd of September, and averaged at 6.9 million sq. miles this year. It was the second smallest seasonal ozone hole recorded in the past twenty years.

The biggest ozone hole was recorded in the year of 2000, at 11.5 million sq. miles.

Air temperatures affect the size of the ozone hole. Scientists equate colder temperatures to bigger ozone holes.

Jim Butler, of NOAA's Boulder, Colo.-based Earth System Research Laboratory, said, "It happened to be a bit warmer this year high in the atmosphere above Antarctica, and that meant we didn't see quite as much ozone depletion as we saw last year, when it was colder."

Researchers are of the view that it could consume another ten years before signs recovery in the Antarctic ozone layer are spotted.

Chlorine released by artificial chemicals called chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) is held responsible for the destruction of ozone molecules, and causing hole in the ozone gas layer.

Ozone gas is treated as a pollutant on Earth's surface, but this very gas protects life on Earth from harmful ultraviolet (UV) rays from the Sun. UV radiation can cause skin cancer and damage vegetation also.