Recovering Ozone Layer

After the first discovery of “Ozone Layer” over the Antarctic and more recently over Arctic, groups meeting in Montreal this week are pushing forward for a phase-out of HCFCs (hydrochlorofluorocarbons) 10 years earlier than scheduled. This will reduce cumulatively 18 to 25 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide. HCFCs are now currently used in refrigerators and air-conditions instead of CFCs(chlorofluorocarbons). The aim is to recover Ozone layer to healthy pre-1980 levels.

 What CFCs and HCFCs do? Chlorine (Cl) liberated from these greenhouse gases goes through a chain reaction that breaks down the ozone molecules thus creating a hole in the stratosphere where the ozone layer is located from about 15 to 35 km above Earth’s surface. Ultraviolet rays from Sun can easily enter the Earth’s atmosphere and can cause skin cancers and other health problem and can damage the eco-system as well.

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