15 to 35 kilometers above the earth’s surface there is a gas which is known Ozone Layer. They performes as a barrier between Earth and ultraviolet radiation from the Sun. However, pollution causes the thin exposing life on Earth to dangerous radiation.
The Earth’s atmosphere is of six layers. The second surface is the stratosphere which contains the ozone layer. The Ozone layer is made up of a very reactive molecule which is known as ozone which contains three oxygen atoms. Ozone is a trace gas in the atmosphere. The Ozone Layer acts as Earth’s skin protection, absorbing about 98% of harmful UV light. But the ozone layer is getting thinner day by day.
What are Chlorofluorocarbons in the Ozone Layer?
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Chemicals called chlorofluorocarbons or CFCs are the primary offender in the ozone layer collapse. A CFC is a molecule that contains the elements of carbon, chlorine, and fluorine. They are base on refrigerants, aerosol and plastic products. When CFC’s expose to ultraviolet rays in the atmosphere, they break down into substances that include chlorine.
The chlorine reacts with the oxygen atoms. Areas of damage in the ozone are often called ozone holes but that name is confusing. Ozone Layer destruction is more like a narrow mark with the narrow areas near the poles. The surface above the Antarctic, in particular, has an impact by pollution since the mid-1980s. There the region’s short transposition rush the change of CFCs to Ozone-damaging chlorine.
About 90% of CFCs directly gets in the atmosphere is discharge by technical countries in the northern hemisphere. In 1989, the Montreal Protocol prohibits the production of ozone-depleting substances. Since then the amount of chlorine and other ozone-depleting elements in the atmosphere have been falling. Scientists estimate that chlorine levels will return to their natural state in about 50 years. By then the Antarctic ozone hole will shrink to smaller than eight million square miles.
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