New UN measurements show substantial depletion of ozone layer
29 August -- New measurements released today by the United
Nations show an alarming decrease in the size of the ozone layer
over Antarctica.
The UN World Meteorological Organization (WMO) today reported
(http://www.wmo.ch/web/arep/00/ozbull2.html) that its latest
satellite observations of the sunlit portion of Antarctica show
an average decrease of about 30 per cent in the total amount of
ozone. "This is an alarming rate of decrease," WMO spokesman
Taysir Al-Ghanem told the UN News Service. "It is double the
amount we had observed two weeks ago, and this could lead to a
much greater ozone hole," he warned.
WMO's ground-based and satellite instruments require sunlight in
order to function, and the new measurements come as Antarctica
emerges from its winter, which obscures the sun, Mr. Al-Ghanem
explained. He noted that as more light was coming in, more
measurements were being taken by the agency's stations in the
Antarctic, enabling it to observe a "substantial decrease in the
concentration of the ozone."
The ozone layer reflects heat away from the earth and protects
the planet from dangerous levels of ultraviolet rays from the sun
called UV-B rays. When the ozone layer is significantly
decreased, more UV-B radiation reaches the earth. Among other
effects, the radiation causes an increase in skin cancers, the
suppression of immune systems, and the exacerbation of eye
disorders.
The depletion of the ozone layer is blamed on chlorofluorocarbons
(CFCs), which can be found in common household products, such as
aerosols, foams, refrigeration, air conditioners, solvents and
fire extinguishers. In order to counter ozone depletion,
governments in 1985 adopted the Vienna Convention on the
Protection of the Ozone Layer (http://www.unep.org/SEC/env3.htm),
and, two years later, the Montreal Protocol on Substances that
Deplete the Ozone Layer (http://www.unep.org/SEC/env3.htm). The
Protocol aims to reduce and eventually eliminate the emissions of
man-made ozone depleting substances.
SOURCE: United Nations, New York
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