Yes, a rare thing, but it appears that the efforts to stop the disappearance of ozone over Antartica – primarily through the abolition of the use of CFCs – are working.
Two decades after research began, the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) said the level of ozone-depleting gases was decreasing and it seemed the hole over the Antarctic had been stabilised….Continued CFC emissions, together with climate change, could slow down the recovery of the ozone layer, but both scientists said they were “optimistic” it would one day return to previous levels. “It will not be until the middle of the century though,” said Dr Solomon.
I can remember in Australia at the time this was discovered (in the late 1980s) there was considerable fear – we already had (and still have) a very high rate of skin cancer, and this was going to greatly increase the danger if the hole was allowed to keep growing.
Great to know that the human race as a whole can respond collectively to threats to the environment. Now if only we could get the same level of urgency about global warming…
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