The ozone layer is slowly rebuilding

EDITOR’S NOTE: Our Youth Corner columns are written by area high school students and cover a variety of local and national issues. The opinions expressed in the column solely represent the author and do not necessarily represent the editorial stance of this newspaper.

Global research conducted every four years by the United Nations has revealed that the Earth’s ozone layer is rebuilding.

After discovering a hole over the South Pole in the late 1980s, the ozone layer has been one of the largest debacles regarding Earth’s environmental status. After discovering the hole in the ozone, the Montreal Protocol was swiftly enacted in 1987.

This protocol would ensure that there was a global phase-out of hydrochlorofluorocarbons. These gasses are found in aerosols, refrigerants, air conditioning, and more.

When hydrochlorofluorocarbons are used, they can cause catastrophic reactions between particles. These interactions between hydrochlorofluorocarbons and ozone molecules slowly damaged the ozone layer, and with enough damage, the layer would be lost. Consequently, this would increase the risk of ultraviolet rays to the environment and humans, resulting in skin cancer, extreme sunburns and more.

However, due to protocols like Montreal, and Kigali amendments, the ozone layer is estimated to be completely restored by 2040, yet the Arctic will be fixed by 2045, and the Antarctic by 2066.

With the Montreal Protocols, the Executive Secretary of the UN Environment Programme’s Ozone Secretariat, Meg Seki, said, “Over the last 35 years, the protocol has become a true champion for the environment. The assessments and reviews undertaken by the Scientific Assessment Panel remain a vital component of the work of the Protocol that helps inform policy and decision-makers.”