QUESTION:
How big is the ozone hole?
        
        From Matthew G., at Charleston Jr. High School 
 

ANSWER from John Booth,Science Technician
            Palmer Station, Antarctica         
            Sat, 15 Feb 1997 23:44:59 -0500

Dear Matthew,

The size of the ozone hole varies from day to day within the period
of the ozone depletion "event".  This year's hole reached a single
day maximum extent of 10 million square miles, and the average size
throughout the season was 8.3 million square miles.  As a couple of
points of reference, North America is roughly 8.1 million square
miles, and the Antarctic continent is 5.4 million square miles.

Thanks for your question!

John Booth