Northern ozone layer disappearing

Scientists have detected the most significant hole in the ozone layer over the Arctic yet. The hole has become so large that it has reached as far south as Russia and into northern Mongolia.

LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) - Scientists say the massive hole is temporary and that levels of ozone entering the atmosphere have been slowly declining. However the holes above the north and south poles of the planet show just how substantial the ozone layer depletion has become.

The ozone layer is important because it blocks the sun's ultraviolet rays reaching the Earth's surface. While some ultraviolet rays reach the surface anyway, the vast majority of them are absorbed by the ozone layer.
 
Ultraviolet rays are responsible for causing sunburns and skin cancer in humans. In high concentrations they can also kill a wide variety of plants and animals.

The hole in the ozone layer was discovered in 1985 over the Antarctic.

The ozone layer has been depleted by decades of emissions of chlorinated fluorocarbons, or CFCs. CFCs were once found in aerosol sprays and pesticides as well as a wide array of other products. The Montréal Protocol has banned the use of CFCs and has been ratified by 191 countries.

In the last 10 years, scientists report concentrations of CFCs in the atmosphere have been on the decline but they still remain approximately 25 percent higher than when the ozone hole was first discovered in 1985.

Despite the reduction in CFC use, levels are still high because CFCs are still being released into the atmosphere mostly from the soil, the result of their widespread use the century before.
Scientists emphasize that this illustrates the long-term and sometimes unintended consequences of human activity on the environment.

The appearance of a significant hole in the northern ozone layer also demonstrates the unpredictability of environmental chaos caused by human activity. Scientists say that it should be taken as a warning that we need to be serious about environmental issues because our impacts can have far ranging, long-term consequences.

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