According to the latest studies of the World Meteorological Organization (OMM), the Ozone layer is in the long -term recovery phase and the concentration in the atmosphere of the substances that cause damage continues to decrease.
In the second half of the twentieth century, the industrialization and proliferation of products such as refrigerants and aerosols, which when they reach the atmosphere they end with the ozone molecules.
This process generated the famous “ozone hole”, detected for the first time on Antarctica in 1980, then the scientific community gave the alarm and the international community mobilized in an attempt to remedy the situation.
Global Cooperation Success
The response to this threat was completed in 1987 with the signing of the Montreal protocol, an agreement, ratified practically by all countries of the world, for the progressive elimination of harmful substances for the ozone layer.
Thanks to the application of this protocol and scientific advances, since then millions of tons of harmful chemical compounds for ozone have stopped throwing themselves to the atmosphere and the recovery of the ozone layer has begun, confirmed by experts.
A recent MIT study published in Nature magazine has confirmed, for the first time, the direct relationship between the recovery of the ozone hole and the reduction of the use of chemical substances, discarding other possible climatic causes.
Advances and challenges
The advances are notable. According to the latest reports of the scientific evaluation panel of the Montreal protocol, if the current policies are maintained, the ozone layer could recover at the 1980 levels in the mid -century in most regions.
Specifically, the World Meteorological Organization He hopes that, as long as current policies are maintained, the ozone layer will recover around 2066 in Antarctica, around 2045 in the Arctic and around 2040 in the rest of the world.
However, despite the good data, some threats continue to hinder themselves around their recovery, such as the use of unregulated substances, the increase in emissions of some hydrofluorocarbons and unexpected phenomena that could delay this improvement.
Science and technology
Scientific research has been key to the detection, monitoring and recovery of the ozone layer. Technological advances allow to monitor in real time the state of the atmosphere, while innovation in the industry has facilitated the development of safe alternative substances for ozone and climate.
Therefore, Matt Tully, president of the scientific advice group on Ozone and OMM ultraviolet rays, considers that the role of the global atmosphere surveillance program (VAG) provides crucial support in the preservation of the ozone. “It is essential to continue with the contributing observations and monitoring, so that the substances that exhaust this layer and ultraviolet radiation are maintained with the worldwide resolution, resolution and coverage necessary to give an account of the changes in the ozone during the next decades.”