Recently the World Meteorological Organization sent out a warning to Scandanavian countries, warning of increased UV exposure. This is due to a recent discovery of a shallow ozone layer hole over the North Sea and Scandanavia. The ozone hole is as a result of the unusually cold winter, which caused a very cold stable high pressure to form over Scandanavia, sending frigid air into europe, and stabilizing the stratosphere, preventing ozone from forming in the typically unstable environment found in the ozone layer. Long story short: The cold winter in europe has led to a minor ozone hole. Its nowhere near the strength or size of the antarctic ozone hole, but then again, nobody really lives in the Antarctic, while tens of millions live in Scandanavia, Great Britain, and the rest of northern Europe. It's important to be aware of this, especially with the looming threat of climate change.
One of the biggest threats of climate change isn't just increased temepratures, but increased volatility in the atmosphere. This means that much colder-than-normal winters are quite possible, and may already be happening. It'll be another decade before we can be sure of this, but if the pattern of cold winters continues over northern Europe, we may be looking at an ozone issue far greater than the Antarctic ozone hole.
There is good news though! The hole is minor, and highly anomalous, and with spring rapidly approaching, the stratosphere is once again mixing up and the hole is dissipating, so don't worry; though it is still something to watch in the coming years.
