The 2015 Antarctic ozone hole area was larger and formed later than recent years, according to scientists from NOAA and NASA. On October 2, 2015, the ozone hole expanded to its peak of 28.2 million square kilometers (10.9 million square miles), an area larger than the continent of North America.

Using data from NOAA and NASA satellites, this images shows the ozone layer from two perspectives. The blue colors indicate normal levels of ozone and red colors indicate the area associated with the ozone hole. The vertical profile in green colors shows how the actual thickness of the ozone layer changes, as measured by the OMPS Limb sensor on the Suomi NPP satellite. As the satellite orbit passed over Antarctica, very low levels and thicknesses of ozone were measured. Such low levels of ozone allow dangerous ultraviolet radiation to reach the Earth's surface.