Ozone layer is healing, says UN report

Pat yourselves on the back! Earth’s protective ozone layer is slowly but steadily healing and will mend by itself by 2066, a new United Nations report said Monday.

The report—presented at the American Meteorological Society convention in Denver—also observed that by the 2040s, most of the Earth’s ozone layer will heal, leaving only the layer above the Arctic and Antarctic open.

The ozone layer above the poles will take till 2066 to heal and get back to the 1980s pre-thinning levels.

Why is this significant?
In 1985, climate scientists identified a hole in the ozone layer—which protects us from the harmful radiation that causes skin cancer and eye cataracts apart from damaging crops.

Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) found in refrigerators, air conditioners, etc, contributed heavily to the thinning of the ozone layer. As a result, the 1987 Montreal Protocol was reached and agreed upon by most nations and CFCs were banned.

Now, 35 years later, we are seeing the positive results of our joint actions.