Japanese scientists are predicting the hole in the ozone layer over the South Pole will almost disappear by 2040 after the amount of ozone suddenly starts to rise a decade earlier.
They used a computer to predict future changes according to restrictions on CFCs across the world.
The study involved experts from the National Institute for Environmental Studies and the University of Tokyo.
The US National Aeronautics and Space Administration has previously predicted the hole in the ozone layer will continue to grow until after 2050.
The Japanese study found the amount of ozone over the South Pole will not change over the next 15 years, but will start to rise in the late 2030s before recovering in 2040.
A spokesman from the National Institute for Environmental Studies, said: "What influences the South Pole is not global warming, but chlorine in the atmosphere that mostly originates from CFCs."
Researchers claim ozone over the North Pole, where the destruction is not as serious, will decrease until 2010 then remain largely unchanged.
AP