It appears that the international effort to protect the Earth's ozone layer has worked, as a new report based on the assessment of 300 scientists from different parts of the globe revealed that the stratospheric ozone, which protects the Earth from the harmful radiation of the sun, is on its track to recovery.
The report, which was produced by the World Meteorological Organization and the U.N. Environment Program, revealed that the ozone hole that appears yearly over Antarctica has already stopped getting bigger albeit it will still take about 10 years before it will start to shrink. The report also largely attributes this development to a 1987 treaty that aimed to protect the Earth's fragile ozone layer.
The international treaty known as the Montreal Protocol resulted in the banning of substances that cause the thinning of the ozone layer, which has been occurring since the late 1970's. Without this treaty, the level of compounds that are known to damage the ozone layer such as the chlorofluorocarbons, or CFCs, that years ago were widely used in spray cans and refrigerators, is believed to have increased ten times by 2050.
The report said that the international agreement to ban substances that cause the ozone depletion would also prevent two millions cases of skin cancer annually by 2030 as well as curb incidence of damage to humans, plant and animals caused by the harmful ultraviolet rays of the sun.
WMO Secretary-General Michel Jarraud said that the positive result of this international collaboration to protect the ozone layer should give encouragement in tackling other environmental challenges such as climate change.
"International action on the ozone layer is a major environmental success story," Jarraud said. "This should encourage us to display the same level of urgency and unity to tackle the even greater challenge of tackling climate change."
Scientists have also -for the first time in over three decades- confirmed of a significant and sustained increase in the stratospheric ozone. From 2000 to 2013 the ozone levels have increased by 4 percent, which is equivalent to about 30 miles high, in key mid-northern latitudes.
Paul Newman, from NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, said that scientific contributions also have something to do with the recovery of the ozone.
"It is particularly gratifying to report that the ozone layer is on track for recovery to 1980 benchmark levels by mid-century," Newman said. "Many of these early signs of ozone improvements are due to decades of work and contributions by NASA and NOAA instruments and scientists."
