Through a scientific assessment, which is carried out every four years, United Nations experts warned that the hole in the ozone layer is slowly closing and that, by 2066, this “protective shield” will be completely “healed.” In that sense, after recalling that a mild “cure” had been detected in the previous report, those “recovery figures have become very solid,” said Paul Newman, co-chair of the scientific evaluation.
“The Antarctic ozone hole is expected to close gradually,” said the document released in recent hours. At the same time that they highlighted that, according to the latest measurements, “and assuming the reference estimate of future developments”, this protective layer of the planet will return to “1980 levels shortly after mid-century (around 2066, with a range between 2049 and 2077)”.
In this sense, they pointed out that the hole that is located on Antarctica it would take about 43 years to fully close. “In the upper stratosphere and in the ozone hole we see things getting better,” Newman told reporters. While Petteri Taalas, Secretary General of the World Meteorological Organization, issued a statement and noted that “ozone action sets a precedent for climate action.”
Beyond what was announced, the truth is that the scientific evaluation warned that the recovery is in progress and that it began to materialize after the agreement reached by all the nations of the world, 35 years ago. At that time, they agreed to stop producing chemical substances that harm or corrode the ozone layer in the Earth’s atmosphere, which aims to protect humans, animals and plants from the sun’s harmful ultraviolet rays, in addition to preventing the planet warms up an additional 0.85 degrees Celsius, according to some scientific research.
“It is clear that there has been a substantial improvement when it comes to ozone hole recovery. Little by little it is recovering, but year to year there is some variability, called atmospheric variability. This year the greatest destruction of ozone is directly related to the eruption of the volcano in Tonga, which emitted a large amount of aerosols into the stratosphere, reflecting the sun’s rays and keeping the stratosphere cooler than normal, more than normal. the average”, Cindy Fernández, a meteorological communicator for the National Meteorological Service (SMN), had pointed out in dialogue with Infobae.
“Our success in phasing out ozone-depleting chemicals shows us what can and must be done, as a matter of urgency, to move away from fossil fuels, reduce greenhouse gases, and therefore limit the rise in temperature,” Taalas added in the letter. This kind of protective shield had suffered holes over the poles, which were detected in the 1980s, due to the use of gases known as chlorofurocarbons (CFCs). The answer was the Montreal Protocol.
Moreover, the experts pointed out that “the timing of the recovery of the Total Column of Ozone (TCO, for its acronym in English – NdR: thickness of the layer) of the Arctic in spring will be affected by anthropogenic climate change”. To put it in other words, the experts assured that the recovery of the ozone layer also depends on the climate change that is taking place today.
According to Newman, chief Earth scientist at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, there are two main chemicals that destroy ozone, which are located at the lowest levels in the atmosphere. On these, the expert indicated the data identified in the report and assured that the level of chlorine down 11.5% since they peaked in 1993; Meanwhile he brominemore harmful to ozone but located at lower levels in the air, has receded 14.5% since its peak in 1999.
