新一期英国《自然—地学》杂志刊登研究报告说，南极上空臭氧层空洞的影响超出了南极洲及其周边海域，这可能是导致非洲南部近年来气候变暖的原因，这种变暖与温室气体的关联相对不大。
津巴布韦等国的研究人员分析了1979年至2010年间非洲南部的气候数据，发现当地夏季气温有明显上升趋势，并且夏初的气温升高是突然上升而非平缓变化的。进一步的分析显示，这种温度上升与南极臭氧层空洞的大小之间存在关联，在臭氧层空洞越大的时候，气温上升得越厉害。
研究人员因此认为，是南极上空臭氧层空洞的变化引起了相关区域气压的变化，经过一系列传导之后使得非洲南部的气候变暖。这说明南极上空臭氧层空洞的影响不止局限于南极及其周边海域，还可以改变更广大邻近地区的气候。
在全球变暖的大背景下，此前曾有猜测认为温室气体是非洲南部气候变暖的原因，但此次研究没有发现两者之间有很大的关联。（生物谷Bioon.com）
生物谷推荐的英文摘要
Nature Communications doi:10.1038/ngeo1968
Link between Antarctic ozone depletion and summer warming over southern Africa
Desmond Manatsa，Yushi Morioka，Swadhin K. Behera，Toshi Yamagata & Caxton H. Matarira
The notable rise in surface air temperatures over southern Africa over the past two decades is thought to largely result from the human-induced increase in atmospheric greenhouse gas concentrations1， 2， 3. In addition， the loss of stratospheric ozone over Antarctica is thought to have had a significant impact on tropospheric circulation， and hence climate， in the Southern Hemisphere summer4， 5， 6， 7， 8， 9， by favouring the positive phase of the Southern Annular Mode4， 10， 11. Here， we use reanalysis data to compare the climate of southern Africa before and after the development of the large ozone hole， and investigate possible links between the development of the Antarctic ozone hole and summer warming in the region， defining 1970–1993 as the pre-ozone hole era， and 1993–2011 as the large ozone hole era. We find that the ozone-induced shift in the polarity of the Southern Annular Mode after 1993 coincided with an intensification of the Angola Low， a continental low pressure system that normally develops in austral summer and is mostly located over Angola. We show that the deepening of this low pressure system， in turn， was associated with an increase in the flux of warm surface air from the lower latitudes to southern Africa. We suggest that the recent summer warming over southern Africa is linked to these shifts in atmospheric circulation that are probably induced by Antarctic ozone loss.
