Yes and no The ozone hole is basically a human caused hole in the ozone layer above the South Pole during the Southern
which lies high in the atmosphere.

shields us from harmful ultraviolet UV rays



The ozone hole felt like a personal problem because hair spray cans.

refrigerator coolantall things that were woven into the fabric of everyday life The



Scientists from the British Antarctic Survey BAS alerted the world to a large and expanding hole in the ozone layer above the Antarctic. The damage was caused by .



Ozone depletion is a major environmental problem because it increases the amount of ultraviolet UV radiation that reaches Earth’s surface.



which increases the rate of skin cancer.



eye cataracts.





and



With the ozone hole it was something that was absolutely clear cut

you could show politicians a picture of the Antarctic ozone hole Because increased UV light



The depletion of the ozone layer can lead to increased ground level UV radiation.

which can increase risk of skin cancer and cataracts in humans.

as well as weaken human immune systems




The hole in the Earth’s ozone layer.



once the most feared environmental peril facing humanity
is set to be completely healed over most of the world within two decades following decisive action .



BBC News Human action to save the ozone layer has worked as hoped

and it may recover in just decades
the UN says. An international agreement to stop using the harmful chemicals that





One atom of chlorine can destroy more
molecules

according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

eradicating ozone much more



There’s a tendency to compare the ozone hole to climate change.

yet while the Montreal Protocol does demonstrate we can tackle large environmental problems the



Long lived chloride compounds from anthropogenic emissions of chlorofluorocarbons CFCs are the main cause of worrying se



Ozonea gaseous molecule that blankets the Earthabsorbs harmful ultraviolet light

protecting humanity from high rates of skin cancer.



eye disease

and .



The ozone hole has thus inspired a new generation of scientists to probe climate chemistry interactions.





forging connections between previously separate


Before the ozone hole.



environmental issues such as the London smog of s or the use of the toxic insecticide DDT in s emerged were dealt with


The “ozone hole”.

as it became known
was caused by ozone eating chemicals called chlorofluorocarbons CFCs used as refrigerants in air conditioners .



Ozone is created naturally when oxygen molecules O2 high in the atmosphere get broken by sunlight into two free oxygen atoms. A free atom can then .





The ozone hole area in the simulation without iodine is shown in yellow

while the expansion of the ozone hole area caused by iodine is depicted in green. The impact .



Although the thinning in the ozone layer over Antarctica has improved to some degree
the largest hole in the ozone ever recorded occurred in. The hole. square mi 29. square km.



which is an area larger than North America By
the hole in the ozone layer had returned to its ten year



The ozone hole first formed over Antarctica in the s and was detected by scientists a few years later. NASA confirmed its existence by remote sensing. At the same time.



various .



Earth s ozone layer.

an early symbol of global environmental degradation


is improving and on track to recover by the middle of st century Over the years

humans have successfully




Antarctic ozone hole reached its maximum area on Oct th largest What we call the “ ozone hole ” is a thinning of t




Human action to save the ozone layer has worked as hoped.



and it may recover in just decades

the UN says An international agreement to stop using the harmful chemicals that were damaging


Ozone is a colorless gas Chemically


ozone is very active it reacts readily with a great many other substances. Near the Earth’s surface.



those reactions cause rubber to crack.



hurt plant life

and damage people’s lung tissues. But ozone also absorbs harmful components of sunlight.

known as “ultraviolet B”.

or “UV B”..



Effects on Human Health. Ozone layer depletion increases the amount of UVB that reaches the Earth’s surface. Laboratory and epidemiological studies demonstrate that UVB causes non melanoma skin cancer and plays a major role in malignant melanoma development. In addition.



UVB has been linked to the development of cataracts.





a .







The remarkable story of the battle to save the ozone layer starts with science . they didn’t know the scale of the problem. But.



a hole was confirmed in the ozone layer over Antarctica The world’s natural sun shield
which protects humans.



plants
animals and ecosystems from excessive ultraviolet radiation
had been breached


Ozone is a molecule with a strong smell and is blue in color Molecules of ozone consist of three oxygen atoms Ozone wa
the ozone hole is not actually a hole in the ozone layer
but a region of depleted ozone in the stratosphere over the Antarctic

which .





This is true even in Antarctica

where the largest seasonal ozone losses.

the so called Antarctic ozone hole
occur annually Also forgotten is a long list of truly ridiculous claims

such as the


Cut price Chinese home insulation is being blamed for a massive rise in emissions of a gas.





highly damaging to the Earth s protective ozone layer The Environmental Investigations Agency EIA


The ozone hole was first observed in the s and reached its largest extent.

according to NASA This year’s ozone hole

which peaked on Oct. 5.





was the biggest recorded



Thanks to some pretty forward thinking environmental regulation in the late ’70s and early ’80s.



the ozone hole is on the mend. In fact.

the ozone hole was the smallest it’s been .





The hole in the ozone layer that develops annually is “rather larger than usual” and is currently bigger than Antartica.



say the scientists responsible for monitoring it..





MIT Atmospheric Chemist Susan Solomon recounts how scientists.



world governments.



and the public worked together to stop the ozone hole from growing.



and what we can learn from those actions that could be applied to the climate change problem Last week
MIT Professor Susan Solomon delivered Sears Public Lecture at



The Earth s ozone layer ozone layerThe region of the stratosphere containing the bulk of atmospheric ozone The ozone la

in the stratosphere Depletion of this layer by ozone depleting substances ODS will lead to higher UVB levels
which in turn will cause .





ago

Montreal Protocol.



formally Montreal Protocol on Substances That Deplete the Ozone Layer.



international treaty

adopted in Montreal on


that aimed to regulate the production and use of chemicals that contribute to the depletion of Earth’s ozone layer.Initially signed countries.

the treaty now has .



The quick detection of this problem is an important scientific successso far.



the added CFC not been enough to significantly delay the closing of the ozone hole

but continuing additions .





Provides live data from satellites that monitor stratospheric ozone and UV radiation. Includes information about WMO s atmospheric monitoring and research. NASA provides daily images.





data

and information from satellite instruments that monitor the ozone layer and the ozone hole
a thinning break in the stratospheric ozone layer


Rowland.





a professor of chemistry at the University of California

Irvine

and Molina

a postdoctoral fellow in Rowland’s laboratory

had shown that chlorofluorocarbonsCFCscould destroy ozone.



a molecule made up of three oxygen atoms
in Earth’s stratosphere That stratospheric ozone absorbs ultraviolet


The ozone layer that shields life on Earth from deadly solar radiation is on track to recover within decades but controversial geoengineering schemes to blunt global warming could reverse that progress.

a major scientific assessment warned Monday. Since the mid 1970s.





certain industrial aerosols have led to the depletion of ozone in the .



The Earth s ozone layer ozone layerThe region of the stratosphere containing the bulk of atmospheric ozone The ozone la
in the stratosphere. Depletion of this layer by ozone depleting substances ODS will lead to higher UVB levels.

which in turn


BBC News. Thirty years ago three scientists from Cambridge found a hole in the ozone layer.



a shield high in the sky protecting us from potentially lethal solar radiation. It changed the way we .





The ozone hole over Antarctica in the increasing the long term risk of problems such as skin cancer an environ


The acid rain story and the ozone story show that we are capable of dealing with environmental problems and that we

said Mike Paterson

a senior research .





Health effects arising from ozone air pollution include difficulty in breathing and pain in deep breaths. Ozone can cause coughing.

sore throat.



and chronic pulmonary diseases. The gas can aggravate conditions of the lungs such as chronic bronchitis.

asthma

and emphysema. Exposures over an extended period lead to lung damage and abnormal .



The same tools that fixed the ozone hole science

innovation and international action can address it. Congress added protecting the ozone layer to the Environmental Protection .



That’s the treaty that saved the ozone layer
saved millions of lives.



and avoided a global catastrophe. We too often take the rescue of the ozone layer for granted. A whole generation has grown .





The evidence points to illegal production of the banned chemical

threatening the fragile recovery of Earth s UV shielding ozone layer But the identity of the environmental super villa

a breakthrough. By running global climate models backwards.

a team of scientists in Boulder

Colorado

trace the source of



The annual Antarctic ozone hole reached an average area square miles 23 square kilometers between Sept Oct 13

2022. This depleted area of the ozone layer over .



In absolute terms

the effect of iodine on Antarctic stratospheric ozone loss in km altitude range is approximately constant during mos
destroying ∼ ∼6.

Fig. and SI Appendix.



Fig S7 During autumn and spring
the impact is ∼ ∼5.

and ∼ ∼11

respectively..



An enduring impact on Earth’s climate. Three decades after Montreal.

the ozone layer is showing signs of recovery. In.

a NASA study found that the ozone hole was the smallest it had .







For Earth Day
The Associated Press asked more environmental scientists and policy experts
including two former U S Environmental Protection Agency chiefs and the current director of the


Molecular oxygen O2 is the normal oxygen we breathe and is present throughout the atmosphere It can be split apart by t



EPA issues final determinations as to whether certain areas have attained or ozone standards EPA will Reconsider Pr


The ozone layer lies between 3
15 kilometers above Earth s surface This blanket of ozone

or O3
blocks most of the sun s high frequency ultraviolet rays These UV


The Montreal Protocol was years ago and remains a landmark environmental agreement.



saving millions of people from cancer and contributing significantly to the protection of Earth’s climate system. Formally known as the “Montreal Protocol on Substances That Deplete the Ozone Layer.



” this important U.N. treaty offsite .







The ozone hole over Antarctica in the increasing the long term risk of problems such as skin cancer. an environmental treaty signed by almost every country that banned the .



In s

a team of scientists shocked the world when they detected a hole in the layer year old Jonathan Shanklin saw an adver
which read Wanted physicist with an interest in meteorology and programming skills. Feeling he ticked the boxes.

Shanklin applied and was offered the role


Thirty years on.

the Montreal Protocol has not begun to come to grips with these chemicals
warns Rowley “The na ve view until recently
” he says
“was that short lived chemicals didn’t present a threat to stratospheric ozone. Wrong.”. Other loopholes in the protocol are concerning researchers as well..





Ozone depletion has altered conditions at the Earth’s surface and interacts with climate change This Review assesses

including implications for food and



The IGO Custom Search Engine searches across hundreds of IGO websites.





enabling users to research topics such as human rights.

development.



environment.

education
HIV AIDS and health from IGOs like the United Nations World Bank

UN Development Program UNDP.

Organization for Economic Cooperation and .



T he paper.



published in top scientific journal Nature.



rocked the world British scientists.



backed up by harrowing images
revealed that


over Antarctica.



a hole had formed in the ozone