Ozone Layer Faces Record Loss Over Arctic This Spring

Geneva: Depletion of the ozone layer protecting Earth from harmful ultraviolet rays hit an all-time low in the Arctic this spring due to harmful chemicals and a cold winter, the weather agency said on Tuesday United Nations.

Earth’s fragile ozone layer in the Arctic region suffered a loss of around 40% between early winter and late March, surpassing the previous seasonal loss of around 30%, the Organization said. world meteorological.

The Geneva-based agency blamed the loss on a build-up of ozone-consuming chemicals once widely used as refrigerants and flame retardants in various devices and at very cold temperatures in the stratosphere, the second major layer of Earth’s atmosphere.

Ozone conditions in the Arctic vary more than the seasonal ozone “hole” that forms in the stratosphere near the South Pole each winter and spring.

“The Arctic stratosphere remains vulnerable to ozone destruction caused by ozone-depleting substances linked to human activities,” said WMO Secretary General Michel Jarraud.

“The degree of ozone loss experienced during a particular winter depends on the weather conditions.”

The loss comes despite the UN Ozone Treaty, known as the Montreal Protocol of 1987, which resulted in reductions in the use of chemicals harmful to the ozone layer in the manufacture of refrigerators , air conditioners, fire extinguishers and even hair spray.

The 196-country Ozone Treaty encourages industries to use alternative chemicals that are less harmful to ozone, the atmospheric layer that helps protect against the sun’s more harmful rays.