World Ozone Day 2022
World Ozone Day is observed on September 16 every year to spread awareness among people about the depletion of the Ozone layer and find possible solutions to preserve it.
What is the Ozone Layer?
The ozone layer is a thin part of the Earth’s atmosphere that sits between 15 km and 30 km above the earth and absorbs almost all of the sun’s harmful ultraviolet light. the Ozone layer is an essential shield that is vital for life on earth to continue.
Damage to the Ozone Layer
Scientists discovered in the late 1970s that a hole in the ozone layer was being created caused by ozone-depleting gases such as CFCs which were used in aerosols and cooling, such as refrigerators and air-conditioners.
In 1985, the world’s governments adopted the Vienna Convention for the Protection of the Ozone Layer. Under this Protocol, governments, scientists and industry worked together to cut out 99 per cent of all ozone-depleting substances. The ozone layer is now healing and expected to return to pre-1980 values by mid-century.
World Ozone Day 2022
This year, we celebrate 35 years of the Vienna Convention and 35 years of global ozone layer protection. It shows that collective decisions and actions, guided by science, are the only way to solve major global crises. In this year of the coronavirus pandemic that has brought such social and economic hardship, the ozone treaties’ message of working together in harmony and for the collective good is more important than ever. The slogan of the day, ‘Ozone for life’, reminds us that not only is ozone crucial for life on Earth but that we must continue to protect the ozone layer for future generations.
