After decades during which humans damaged it with aerosols sprays and coolants, Earth’s ozone layer is healing. At least, that’s the conclusion of a recent UN report that indicates that the protective layer against UV radiations over the Northern Hemisphere should be completely recovered by the end of the 2030s, while Antarctica’s ozone layer hole would fill up by the 2060s.
Since 1970, Earth’s ozone layer has been continuously thinning due to the reckless use of aerosols, coolants, and other ozone-depleting chemicals and substances. According to the UN report, besides the Northern Hemisphere and Antarctica, the ozone layer over the Southern Hemisphere would recover in mid-century.
“It’s really good news. If ozone-depleting substances had continued to increase, we would have seen huge effects. We stopped that,” explained Paul Newman, the chief Earth scientist at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, and the co-author of the recently released UN report on the ozone layer situation around the globe.
Earth’s Ozone Layer Is Healing, The Recent UN Report Indicates
Positioned higher in the planet’s atmosphere, the ozone layer is shielding the Earth against the UV radiations. Without this protective layer, the earth would fry and the life as we know it would vanish eventually. In the past 40 years, humans have caused the ozone layer to thin because of the reckless use of human-made chemicals called chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), which produce chlorine and bromine in the Earth’s atmosphere affecting the Earth’s ozone layer.
In the 2000s, the scientists struggled to increase the public awareness regarding the depletion of the ozone layer. Luckily, that move gave the expected results, as the ozone layer started to be less-and-less affected as the years passed. Now, according to Paul Newmann, the Earth’s ozone layer began to heal. He added that in case no measures would have been taken, “the world would have destroyed two-thirds of its ozone layer by 2065.”
“I don’t think we can do a victory lap until 2060. That will be for our grandchildren to do,” Paul Newmann concluded.
Vadim is a passionate writer on various topics but especially on stuff related to health, technology, and science. Therefore, for Great Lakes Ledger, Vadim will cover health and Sci&Tech news.