A year down the track the Wollongong researcher is also not surprised ozone depletion is driving climate change in the Southern Hemisphere.

But ozone depletion's effect on the climate has only recently become evident, and was addressed in a paper published in Nature Sustainability today (June 25).

Professor Robinson, from the University of Wollongong's Centre for Sustainable Ecosystem Solutions and one of the paper's lead authors, said the ozone hole above Antarctica in particular was having a far-reaching effect on climate in the Southern Hemisphere.

"It is now clear that ozone depletion is directly contributing to climate change across the Southern Hemisphere," Prof Robinson said.

"Ozone is a greenhouse gas, so the ozone hole has kept Antarctica cooler, pulling the westerly wind jet that circles the continent closer and tighter to Antarctica. This has increased the speed of the wind, making Antarctica cooler and drier, pulling other Southern Hemisphere weather zones further south."

This has also impacted terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems in Australia, New Zealand, Antarctica, South America, Africa and the Southern Ocean.

"We are seeing changes across the Southern Hemisphere, from the pole to the tropics," she said.

"Some areas are getting more rain and some have become drier, which has a huge effect on plants and animals, including on agriculture.

"On the western side of New Zealand and South America it has gotten drier - the trees are growing less well and there's less water in the hydroelectric schemes. The drying that Western Australia is experiencing is likely linked to this as well.

"At the same time, the eastern coasts of New Zealand and South America have become wetter and so, for example, you've got increased agriculture in the south of Brazil.

"In the same way, some areas of the ocean have become cooler and more productive and some have become warmer and less productive."

The paper was written by members of the United Nations Environmental Effects Assessment Panel (EEAP).

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Associate Professor Stephen Wilson from UOW's Centre for Atmospheric Chemistry is also on the EEAP and contributed to the paper.

He said the main environmental threat to human health from ozone depletion came from the effect of UV radiation and climate change on air quality.

"As atmospheric ozone levels recover there will be winners and losers in terms of ground-level air quality. Modelling indicates that air quality in cities will improve, while regions outside those urban areas will be worse off," Professor Wilson said.