Ozone depletion is likely to continue and the so-called ozone recovery has yet to be confirmed, a United Nations agency said Friday.

"The size of the ozone hole this year was expected to be in the same region as in 2000 and 2003, the two largest ozone holes recorded so far," Geir Braathen, an expert of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), told reporters on Friday.

He made the speech on an occasion to mark the International Day for the Preservation of the Ozone Layer.

For this time of the year, the WMO has never observed such a low ozone value as now seen over the South Pole, and ozone destruction started this year earlier than usual, he said.

At present, the hole over the Antarctic is about 27 million sq km and the WMO expects it to increase to about 28 million sq km, slightly below its 2003 peak at about 29 million sq km.

From May to mid-September 2005, the meteorological conditions in the Antarctic stratosphere were close to the 1995-2004 average: colder than 2004 but a little warmer than in 2003, according to the WMO.

Braathen said the so-called ozone recovery has yet to be confirmed but it is possible to say that ozone depletion is going on at a slower rate than before.

Based on recent patterns, he expects the ozone holes to hover around this year's size for a few more years before they begin to shrink.

The WMO, in collaboration with the ozone science community, is keeping a close eye on the development of the ozone hole, the UN agency said.

Source: Xinhua