Ozone floor gaps are narrowing but will need another 60 years to fully recover

According to a group of American scientists, is gradually shrinking thanks to efforts to reduce CFC emissions into the atmosphere.

Based on NASA and Aura satellite measurements since 2004, scientist Susan Strahan and colleagues at NASA's Goddard Space Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, found evidence that the ozone layer hole is gradually narrow and advance the possibility of full recovery in the future.

Ozone layer has recovered by about 20% compared to 2005.

According to Zmescience, it has recovered about 20% more than in 2005 thanks to efforts to substantially reduce CFCs in the atmosphere. On average, chlorine gas levels are decreasing by 0.8% per year. Previously, 2005 was the first year to measure the amount of chlorine and the ozone layer through Aura satellite.

In 2017, NASA led the latest research to point out, the gap has reached the smallest level since 1988 with a maximum size of only 19.6 million km ² .

Satellite data as of September 2017 showed that the gap is gradually narrowing over time.

The head of the research group, Mr. Strahan said: "We are seeing something very clear, the amount of chlorine gas from CFC in the Ozone gap is declining and Ozone depletion is gradually improving thanks to that. .

This is good news but to fully recover the ozone layer, it will take decades. Anne Douglas, co-author of the study revealed: "CFC has a lifespan of 50-100 years so they can survive in the atmosphere for a very long time. Until the Ozone floor vanishes, they We will have to wait until 2060 or 2080 ".

Although formed a few years ago, it was not until 1985 that the new vulnerability was first discovered in the Southern Hemisphere.

During 1970-1980, special industrial chemicals such as chloro-flurocarbons (CFC), commonly used in the refrigeration industry, severely destroyed the ozone layer, a protective layer in the stratosphere that helps to steam. Ultraviolet rays and prevent skin damage to humans. The gap is so severe that it creates an atmosphere without Ozone in Antarctica.

Recognizing these serious dangers, many countries and companies have signed the 1987 Montreal Protocol, pledging to reduce and eventually eliminate CFC from the industry to save Ozone.

However, even when humankind is happy with the Ozone gap gradually shrinking, there are other concerns that cannot be ignored, which is climate change.

Climate change situation is becoming more and more erratic. The frequency of unseasonal tropical storms in the Pacific, an unusually intense heat wave in Australia or the phenomenal snowfall in North America is becoming more and more frequent.

However, it is only the initial manifestation of extreme phenomena that will appear in the future if people do not have timely measures to minimize the impact and save the Earth.