The ozone layer has strengthened – Picture of the day – Kommersant
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Experts from the World Meteorological Organization and the United Nations Environment Program reported a “significant strengthening” of the Earth’s ozone layer. According to them, its recovery can occur within 40 years.
As part of the 103rd annual conference of the American Meteorological Society, experts from the World Meteorological Organization, the United Nations Environment Program and several other organizations presented the Ozone Depletion Assessment Report (.pdf). It is published every four years.
Experts noted a “significant strengthening” of the ozone layer, associated with the first recorded reduction in the content of ozone-depleting chemicals in the atmosphere.
The authors of the report believe that if the current trend continues for 40 years, the ozone layer can recover to the values of 1980, that is, before the appearance of the ozone hole.
As noted in the document, the phase-out of almost 99% of banned ozone-depleting substances has helped protect the integrity of the ozone layer and reduce the impact on the Earth of harmful ultraviolet radiation. Excessive UV radiation can lead to skin cancer, the development of serious eye diseases, and disrupts the immune system. In addition, it negatively affects crop growth and harms marine phytoplankton.
Equally important, experts say, is that the current trend is having a positive impact on the problem of climate change. For example, it will allow avoiding global warming by 0.3–0.5 °C by 2100.
The use of ozone-depleting chemicals was banned in 1987 by the so-called Montreal Protocol, an international treaty to which all UN member states have acceded. In 2016, the additional Kigali Protocol was signed, banning certain substances that do not directly deplete the ozone layer, but have a powerful impact on climate change.
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