London: Researchers in Australia have claimed that the hole in the ozone layer over Antarctica is on the road to recovery, 22 years after the Montreal Protocol to ban chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) and related ozone-destroying chemicals came into force.

The team is the first to detect a recovery in baseline average springtime ozone levels in the region.

Shift in rainfall patterns across Southern Hemisphere The Antarctic ozone hole is about one-third to blame for Australia's recent series of droughts, say scientists. Writing in the journal Science, they conclude that the hole has shifted wind and rainfall patterns right across the Southern Hemisphere, even the tropics. Their climate models suggest the effect has been notably strong over Austr

India and the US on Friday set up a joint task  force with the aim of reducing greenhouse emissions at a workshop on HydroFluoroCarbons (HFCs) attended by environment minister Jairam Ramesh and US deputy assistant secretary of state for environment Daniel A. Reifsnyder.

Speaking at the Ministerial segment of the Twenty Second Session of the Meeting of the Parties (MOP) to the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer held in Bangkok, 11-12 November, Minister of State Kamaludeen high-lighted the critical role that the Maldives is playing as an active member of the Protocol.

Minister of State said,

The ozone layer that shields life from the sun's harmful rays is projected to recover from harmful chemicals by mid-century, but it will take longer over the polar regions, a United Nations study said on Thursday.

Ozone depletion -- blamed for higher ultraviolet radiation that causes skin cancers and cataracts and damages agriculture

-- will continue for decades as several key damaging subst

Ahmedabad: Watch your usage of refrigerators and air-conditioners. As a byproduct, it releases cloro-floro carbon (CFC) that damages the protective ozone layer and inflicts ultra-violet rays that has side effects ranging from skin cancer to collapse of food pyramid.
Gujarat Science City organised seminars and workshops to mark September 16 as the World Ozone Day on its campus.

Ozone layer in the upper atmosphere protects us from the sun