In the undisturbed atmosphere over the focal zone, the coefficient of correlation between the time series of the temperature at levels of 200 gPa and 450 gPa was positive, reaching 0.4-0.6; in the disturbed atmosphere, there were intensive internal gravity waves, and the correlation coefficient was negative, reaching -0.86. The large wave in the atmosphere observed over the focal zone before the earthquake could have triggered it. A rare event occurred almost simultaneously with the earthquake:

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... an ozone anomaly similar to the Antarctic ozone hole was formed in the Northern Hemisphere between March 5 and April 4, 2011. That event was preceded by a dramatic temperature drop in the lower stratosphere. In 2010, Europe experienced an unprecedented hot summer, and the winter of 2010-2011 was exceptionally cold. Those events could have a common cause. That could be an oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico in spring-summer of 2010, which changed the direction of the Gulf Stream, leading to changes in atmospheric circulation and generation of intensive atmospheric waves. Keywords: seismic activity, earthquake, trigger effect, the ozone hole in the Arctic, disaster in the Gulf of Mexico.