The lion's share of ozone damage happens over Antarctica. When the hole forms, the UV index doubles, reaching extreme levels. We might expect to see UV days over 14 in summers in Australia or California, but not in polar regions.

A hole in the ozone layer - the protective barrier of gas in the upper atmosphere - now lingers over the frozen continent for more of the year. A major cause of ozone loss is believed to be the amount of smoke from unprecedented Australian wildfires, which were fuelled by climate change.

Over the last 25 years, the ozone hole which forming over Antarctica each spring has started to shrink. But over the last four years, even as the hole has shrunk it has persisted for an unusually long time.

Seal pups and fledgling penguins could suffer sunburn and skin cancer, and it’s all down to volcanoes and bushfires.