Scientists said Tuesday that international efforts to protect the ozone layer had been a “huge global success” after revealing that damaging gases in the atmosphere were declining faster than expected. A new study has found that atmospheric levels of hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs), harmful gases responsible for holes in the ozone layer, peaked in 2021 — five years ahead of projections. The most harmful CFCs were phased out by 2010 in an effort to protect the ozone layer — the shield that protects life on Earth from harmful levels of ultraviolet rays from the Sun. This study, published in the journal Nature Climate Change, examined levels of these pollutants in the atmosphere by using data from the Advanced Global Atmospheric Gases Experiment and US National Atmospheric and Oceanic Administration. The United Nations Environment Programme in 2023 estimated it could take four decades before the ozone layer would recover to levels before the hole was first detected in the 1980s.

Source: The Guardian June 11, 2024 13:51 UTC