Billions  at risk of skin cancer as  new hole found in  ozone layer

The new find in the protective layer which sits 15 miles above the Earth is said to sit over the Tropics and potentially puts the lives of billions of people at risk

The find, reported in the AIP Advances journal, is said to be seven times larger than the reported nine million square mile hole over Antarctica.

The new issue in the ozone layer - which sits around 15 miles above the Earth and shields us from cancer-causing ultra-violet rays - is said to be over the Tropics.

The new issue in the ozone layer - which sits around 15 miles above the Earth and shields us from cancer-causing ultra-violet rays - is said to be over the Tropics.

If confirmed it would potentially put billions of people at risk of a number of conditions including cancer and cataracts among others.

University of Waterloo scientist and paper author Qing-Bin Lu said: “The tropics constitute half the planet's surface area and are home to about half the world's population

The hole is believed to have been present since the 1980s, with models only recently being able to confirm its existence.