Ozone on the Mend

The depletion of the ozone layer is one of the most topical environmental issues of our time. 

The excessive burning of coal, oil, and natural gas to fuel human progress has consequently taxed the ozonosphere, the protective bubble surrounding Earth which shields the planet from harmful rays of sunlight which causes medical conditions such as skin cancer and cataracts.  

On Jan 9, 2023, a United Nations (UN) report detailing scientific observation of the ozone layer suggests the atmospheric layer is healing, however slowly. The assessment, released every four years, estimates that the infamous hole over Antarctica could be restored in roughly four decades, and the entire ozone may recover before the turn of the century.

The war against ozone depletion was sparked in 1985, when researchers who had been regularly observing the layers of ozone over Antarctica noticed an alarming trend; Since the 1970’s, the ozone layer had been rapidly depleting, and was now on track to disappear within decades.

Global efforts to stop the crisis were initiated with the signing and ratification of the Montreal Protocol in 1987. The treaty was a rare instance of a universal agreement between nations, an unprecedented feat of research, action, diplomacy, and cooperation. The protocol was an international consensus to end the production and use of hydrofluorocarbons, chemicals present in refrigeration, air-conditioning, insulating foams and aerosol propellants, as well as a host of some 100 man-made chemicals known as ozone-depleting substances (ODS). 

Today, over 35 years after the enactment of the Montreal Protocol, nearly 99% of ODS have been phased out of human consumption, and evidence implies that the ozone layer is on track to full recovery. Saving an estimated 2 million people, and countless unborn others, each year from skin cancer, the success and efficiency of the Montreal Protocol cannot be understated. This environmental triumph sets the precedent for what humanity can achieve in improving the planet.