Ozonelayer“isnolongerdisappearingandwillreturntofullstrengthby2048”,saysUNreport.
Theozonelayerisnolongerdisappearingandcouldbebacktofullstrengthbythemiddleofthiscentury,UNscientistshaveconfirmed.
Thephasingoutofnearly100substancesonceusedinproductslikerefrigeratorsandaerosolshasstoppedtheozonelayerbeingdepletedfurther,althoughitisnotyetincreasing,accordingtoanewUnitedNationsreportreleasedlastweek.
Anditclaimedthatinternationaleffortstoprotecttheozonelayerhasavertedmillionsofcasesofskincancerworldwide.
Theozonelayeroutsidethepolarregionsisprojectedtorecovertopre-1980levelsby2048,althoughtheannualspringtimeozoneholeovertheAntarcticisnotexpectedtorecoveruntil2073.
OzoneinthestratosphereisimportantbecauseitabsorbssomeoftheSun’sdangerousultravioletradiation.
Thereport,publishedjointlybyUNEPandtheUNWorldMeteorologicalOrganization(WMO)isthefirstcomprehensiveupdateinfouryearsontheViennaConventionfortheProtectionoftheOzoneLayerandtheMontrealProtocolphasingoutchemicalswhichacceleratebothozonelayerdamageandclimatechange.
“It(theProtocol)hasprotectedthestratosphericozonelayerfrommuchhigherlevelsofdepletionbyphasingoutproductionandconsumptionofozonedepletingsubstances,”saidthereport.
Thereportwaswrittenandreviewedby300scientistsandlaunchedontheUNInternationalDayforthePreservationoftheOzoneLayer.
Giventhatmanysubstancesthatdepletetheozonelayerarealsopotentgreenhousegases,theMontrealProtocol“providedsubstantialco-benefitsbyreducingclimatechange,”itadded.
In2010,reductionsofozone-depletingsubstancesasaresultoftheProtocol,werefivetimeslargerthanthosetargetedbytheKyotoProtocol,thegreenhouseemissionsreductiontreaty.
“WithouttheMontrealProtocolanditsassociatedViennaConventionatmosphericlevelsofozone-depletingsubstancescouldhaveincreasedtenfoldby2050,”Mr.Steinersaid.
“Thisinturncouldhaveledtoupto20millionmorecasesofskincancerand130millionmorecasesofeyecataracts,nottospeakofdamagetohumanimmunesystems,wildlifeandagriculture.”
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