Table of Contents
WHAT IS OZONE LAYER?
A layer of ozone envelops the Earth and keeps damaging ultraviolet, or UV, radiation from reaching living things on the planet’s surface. The ozone layer exists mainly in the stratosphere, a layer of the atmosphere that reaches from 10 to 50 kilometers (about 6 to 30 miles) above the Earth’s surface.
WHAT IS OZONE HOLE?
- The ozone hole is a region of depleted layers of ozone above the Antarctic region, whose creation is linked to increased cases of skin cancer.
FACTORS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE DEPLETION OF OZONE:
Depletion of ozone is due to many factors, the most dominant of which is the release of chlorine from CFCs (Chlorofluorocarbons) which destroys the ozone. CFCs are released by products such as hairsprays, old refrigerators etc.
WHAT ARE CFCS?
- Chlorofluorocarbons, or CFCs, are compounds made up of combinations of the elements chlorine, fluorine and carbon; aerosols, refrigerants and foams contain CFCs. When these CFCs enter the air, they rise up into the atmosphere to meet up with and destroy ozone molecules.
- First used in 1928, CFCs have since become more common as various other CFC compounds were created. Some of the better-known CFCs are the Freon compounds, which were used as cooling ingredients in refrigerators and air conditioners. CFCs have lifetimes from 50 to 100 years.
THE RESCUE
Montreal Protocol signed, to cut down use of Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) / freons Signed – 26 August 1987 Location – Montreal Effective 26 August 1989
A SUCCESS
FINDINGS OF UN STUDY
- The study published in Geophysical Research Letters journal has confirmed the phenomenon by mapping the chemical composition of the atmosphere.
- The study revealed that chlorine levels declined by 0.8% each year between 2005 and 2016 and speculates that it could be the effect of the worldwide ban on the use of CFC.
- Previous research had hinted at the decrease in the depletion of ozone layer. Scientists believe that the ozone layer would fully recover by 2080.
FACTORS RECOVERING OZONE HOLE
Montreal Protocol: It banned man-made gases that damage the fragile high-altitude ozone layer, found longterm decreases in the atmospheric abundance of controlled ozone-depleting substances and the ongoing recovery of stratospheric ozone. The Antarctic ozone hole was expected to gradually close, returning to 1980 levels in the 2060s, the report said.
FACTORS RECOVERING OZONE HOLE
In 2019, the protocol is set to be strengthened with the ratification of the Kigali Agreement which limits the production of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), ozone safe compounds that are potent greenhouse gases. The writers of the report found that, if the Kigali Amendment is fully implemented, the world can avoid up to 0.4 per cent of global warming this century, meaning that it will play a major role in keeping the global temperature rise below 2°C.
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