It goes like this.
Powerful thunderstorms stir up the atmosphere and water vapour rises into the stratosphere. This turns chloride and bromine into free radicals which transform ozone molecules into oxygen. This process speeds up the depletion of ozone layers. More UV radiation will reach the earth’s surface, potentially leading to higher rates of skin cancer.
According to the author, Andreson, there is a link between climate change and the increase in skin cancer rates.
Here is the abstract of the paper that was published in Science.
Abstract
The observed presence of water vapor convectively injected deep into the stratosphere over the United States can fundamentally change the catalytic chlorine/bromine free-radical chemistry of the lower stratosphere by shifting total available inorganic chlorine into the catalytically active free-radical form, ClO. This chemical shift markedly affects total ozone loss rates and makes the catalytic system extraordinarily sensitive to convective injection into the mid-latitude lower stratosphere in summer. Were the intensity and frequency of convective injection to increase as a result of climate forcing by the continued addition of CO2 and CH4 to the atmosphere, increased risk of ozone loss and associated increases in ultraviolet dosage would follow.
