The truth is, that it’s not really a hole, but more of an ozone depletion we are creating around certain areas of the planet. But what is the ozone layer in the first place? According to national geographic, “The ozone layer is a thin part of the Earth’s atmosphere that absorbs almost all of the sun’s harmful ultraviolet light”.
It all started in the late 1970s when scientists discovered that humanity was creating a hole in this protective shield we had, and naturally, this raised an alarm.
The hole was believed to be caused by some of the gases we normally find in spray aerosols and cooling, such as refrigerators and air-conditioners, and how these directly affected the cases of skin cancer and cataracts, and damaged plants, crops, and ecosystems.
That’s when the world decided to adopt the Vienna Convention for the Protection of the Ozone Layer in 1985. Governments, scientists, and businesses worked together to cut out 99% of all ozone-depleting substances (as we can see, this world pandemic isn’t the first time the whole world has come together for the greater good).
Thanks to the Montreal Protocol, the ozone layer had a chance to heal, and it's actually expected to return to pre-1980 values by mid-century!! That’s crazy, right? Not only that but in 2019 the Kigali Amendment was approved to work towards reducing hydrofluorocarbon (HFCs), greenhouse gases with powerful climate warming potential that are damaging to the environment.
It’s not every day that achievements like this are accomplished, which is why we celebrate Ozone Day on September 16th and remember how collective, smart, and science-guided decisions can help solve any type of crisis, even if it’s a global one.
That’s why, with everything that’s happening in the world right now, and all the hardship we’ve been forced to face because of the current pandemic the globe is going through, we have to remember that the only way out, is sticking together.
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