A new report unveiled by the United Nations (UN) has revealed that the damaged ozone layer in the earth's atmosphere is finally getting healed steadily. A scientific assessment released Monday at a conference in Quito, Ecuador also made it clear that the upper ozone layer above the Northern Hemisphere will be repaired by 2030, while the Antarctic ozone hole will completely disappear by 2060.
"It's really good news. If ozone-depleting substances had continued to increase, we would have seen huge effects. We stopped that," said Paul Newman, the report co-chairman and a chief earth scientist at the NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, the Independent reports.
The ozone layer is a protective shield that lies six miles above the earth's surface, and it safeguards the living beings on the planet from harmful ultraviolet radiations from the sun. However, in the 1970s, refrigerator coolants and aerosol sprays started eating up the ozone cover, and gigantic holes were formed in the layer.
When things become worst in the 1990s, scientists raised the alarm, and ozone-depleting substances were phased out worldwide. Newman revealed that these action plans to protect the ozone layer have played a crucial role in the revival of the ozone layer. Newman also argued that two-third of the world's ozone layer could have been damaged if nothing was done to protect this safeguarding layer.
A few weeks back, scientists identified a new source from where a compound named carbon tetrachloride which is causing the destruction to the ozone layer. Understanding the potential repercussions, a team of researchers from South Korea, Switzerland, Australia and the USA conducted a joint study and discovered that the emissions are majorly coming from eastern China.
The study team also revealed that they are still unaware whether the emissions of carbon tetrachloride from China are made intentionally or inadvertently.
