Posted On : 16 Sep, 2023
World Ozone Day
As we know 16th September is was recognized as a day to mark the conservation of the Ozone layer in our atmosphere. Ever since the hole was was detected in May 1985 over the Antarctics, scientists and experts raised an alarm as the ozone layer comprising of ozone (O3) gas was responsible for preventing us on the ground from harmful uv radiations from the sun. Uv rays if reaches the surface of the earth unfiltered, it may not just cause losses in the polar ice cover but also harm the plants and cause diseases like skin cancer in humans and mutations in several species on this planet. Life would definitely be not as the earth is supposed to support. Thus in 1987 countries decided to sit together work this problem out. Finally the culprit of the problem the Chlorofluorocarbon or CFC gas used as coolant was collectively being taken away from use and this gas was replaced by less harmful HFC or Hydrofluorocarbon. Finally on 16th September 1994 the UN General Assembly marked the day to commemorate the Montreal Protocol or the the when countries come together to mitigate the damage done to the Ozone layer.
Ozone layer covers the earth around 15-20 km in altitude, it’s a layer within the stratosphere. The functioning of the layer is as simple as acting as a barrier between the earth and the harmful uv rays by simply colliding with the harmful high energy uv radiation. Uv rays are short wavelength but high energy waves that when collides with O3 molecules lose their energy and disperse, while the collision breaks O3 into O2 and one charged O- ion. The single oxygen ion is highly reactive and unstable but high in that altitude it finds only the other O2 molecule broken away from O3 to react to. Thus it combines and ozone gas is formed again. This is a cyclic and continuous process until the CFC gas released on earth races to that spot. CFC has Chlorine Fluorine and Carbon. The Cl present in ozone layer reacts much faster with the Oxygen ion compared to the O2 molecule. Chlorine takes up the ion and the Oxygen molecule has got none to form the much needed Ozone gas up in the stratosphere. Entire process gets disrupted causing depletion in the Ozone layer.
CCIF2 + UV light -* CI* + CCIFz
C[* + 03 -> CIO* + 02
CIO* + 0* -* 02 + CI*
And probably it was the only environmental disaster that could have brought the entire world together on a platform. The nations collectively decided to bring an end to the usage of CFC gases. Raising a “HOPE”. A hope not just for the Ozone layer but any other disastrous impact on the environment. The Ozone layer since then has shown significant improvements. But unfortunately other protocols like the Kyoto Protocol calling for reduction of CO2 and other Greenhouse gas emissions have not attracted major players like the US. Alas! Where profit and production comes at stake humans start living in delusion that everything is alright. So sarcastically we can say that “sunburns” scare us more that’s why we believed in Ozone depletion but not Global warming.
