.

“In honor of the Montreal Protocol's signing and to stop ozone layer destruction, the UN has declared September 16 as "International Day for the Preservation of the Ozone Layer."

                                         

ozone Day 2022 | ozone day theme 2022
ozone Day 2022 | ozone day theme 2022

Every year September 16 is observed as the  International Day for the Preservation of the Ozone Layer. This day is observed to make all the nations sensitive towards the protection of the Ozone layer. The day has been designated to encourage all nations to pay immediate attention to environmental protection efforts toward the  preservation of our ozone layer.

The ozone layer must be saved and preserved in any condition. Ozone is a safety shield for the planet Earth and  it is vital for its ecology.

It is in the year 1974 Professors Mario Molina and Frank Sherwood Rowland of the University of California observed for the first time a large hole in the ozone layer near the North and South poles.

The hole covered an area of 20 million square kilometers. The damage was extensive but the world was completely unaware of the situation and its consequences.

If 1974 is considered as the base year then it took almost 13 years ie.1987 for the world to take a concrete step towards preserving the atmospheric ozone layer.

As in the year 1987 the "Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer," often known as the "Montreal Protocol," was signed initially by 46 nations. This was the first step that entrusted various signatory governments to safeguard the atmospheric ozone layer.

Still, most countries were unaware of the threat the chemical pollution posed to the atmospheric ozone layer.

By that time ozone layer was continuously depleting and  the concentration of the ozone layer was falling. This issue was vital  for human health as the depletion of the atmospheric ozone layer  increased UV radiation.

The increased exposure to unwanted UV radiation resulted in health issues for human beings.

 

What is the Ozone layer?

About 20 to 50 kilometers above the surface of the earth, in the stratosphere, is where the ozone layer is found.

 It acts as a thin coating that absorbs short-wave ultraviolet rays from sunlight, reducing the amount of ultraviolet radiation that reaches the ground and so attempting to safeguard life on the planet.

 Before understanding the sensitivity of the ozone for the life on the planet, the records show that ozone layer thickness has been falling by 4% per annum.

What causes damage to the atmospheric ozone layer?

The most significant killers of the ozone layer are man-made chlorofluorocarbons (also known as CFCs).

These are abundantly present  in refrigerants, flame retardant agents, chemical solvents, and foaming agents that people frequently use.

 What are the consequences of a damaged Ozone layer?

In the absence of an atmospheric ozone layer, the earth's climate will shift radically, and crops and animals will either have direct or indirect effects on growth and development. Over the whole surface of the Earth, stratospheric ozone is depleted. 

However, the Arctic region of the northern hemisphere (compared to the southern hemisphere) experiences substantially less of this occurrence (Antarctica). 

This is so because there is more yearly variation in the weather over the Arctic than over the Antarctic. Furthermore, unlike in the Antarctic, the Arctic does not experience prolonged low stratospheric temperatures.

What's worse is that prolonged exposure to UV light can lead to skin lesions on people or eye conditions like cataracts, which can have a variety of negative impacts on health.

 The Montreal Protocol signed and came into force in the year 1987 can be termed the most effective international accord.

The Montreal Protocol enters into force and has evolved into a highly enforceable international agreement, which is wonderful news.

Since CFCs have been completely banned, preliminary results of the initiative have begun to reflect. Scientists have noticed  the first indications of potential repair in the Antarctic ozone layer. 

Since 2000, the ozone hole has begun to repair, which is mostly due to the Montreal Protocol's phase-out of ozone-depleting compounds.

 At the same time, the stratospheric temperature has a significant impact on the size of the ozone hole, with warmer temperatures causing a smaller ozone hole, as was the case in 2019.

 With the rate at which the ozone layer is repairing itself, scientists have estimated that by the year 2070, the ozone hole is expected to be smaller than it was in 1980.

This positive indication is largely due to the lessening of CFCs in the upper atmosphere.

But the ongoing attempts to save the atmospheric ozone layer must not be lessened by any means. The recovering condition of the ozone layer is heartening but should not be the cause of becoming complacent. Instead, it is an alarm to stringently follow the norms of the Montreal Protocol.

By now more than 170 nations have come under the "Montreal Protocol". Due to the growing awareness of environmental preservation.

Ozone day theme for 2022

Global Cooperation to Protect Life on Earth has been chosen as this year's subject for international ozone layer protection.

The drastic climatic changes in the form of severe drought in Europe and China or the havoc of floods in Pakistan reflect the severity of the depleted atmospheric ozone layer.