Climate change is a rising concern for all inhabitants on Earth. Amid the extreme weather events hitting the world, experts have confirmed that the Ozon layer is healing and it is expected to be completely healed in another four decades.
Ozone Layer, the Earth's protection is around 15 to 35 km above Earth's surface, in the stratosphere. The ozone layers block certain types of ultraviolet (UV) radiation and other forms of radiation that could injure or kill most living things, which is why ozone layer depletion is a matter of grave concern.
The thinning of the ozone layer begins generally in September when the chemically active forms of chlorine and bromine derived from human-produced compounds are released above Antarctica on high-altitude polar clouds.
Although now, an UN-backed expert panel has confirmed that the various measures taken to protect the ozone layer have actually contributed to cause. The Scientific Assessment Panel to the Montreal Protocol on Ozone Depleting Substances in its report, which is published every four years, said that the ozone hole will be completely filled by around 2066.
In a statement, the United Nations Environment Program said, "If current policies remain in place, the ozone layer is expected to recover to 1980 values (before the appearance of the ozone hole) by around 2066 over the Antarctic, by 2045 over the Arctic, and by 2040 for the rest of the world."
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The ozone hole continued on its shrinking trend in 2022 and reached an average area of 23.2 million square kilometres between September 7 and October 13, 2022.
The latest assessment marks the success of the Montreal Protocol and the positive impact that the treaty has already had on the climate. The phase-down of production and consumption of many hydrofluorocarbons is estimated to avoid 0.3–0.5 degrees Celcius of warming by 2100.
