Scientists say the ozone layer is slowly recovering


You can call it a comeback: The ozone layer is slowly recovering, scientists say, with a significant increase in stratospheric ozone, which protects the planet from solar radiation.
A United Nations scientific panel found that between 2000 and 2013, ozone levels went up 4 percent in mid-northern latitudes at 30 miles up. In the 1980s, scientists issued a dire warning about CFCs, man-made chemicals found in aerosol cans and refrigerants that released chlorine and bromine into the air, destroying ozone. In 1987, countries agreed to a treaty that phased CFCs out. "It's a victory for diplomacy and for science and for the fact that we were able to work together," Mario Molina, a chemist who co-wrote a 1974 study forecasting ozone depletion, told The Associated Press.
"More than 98 percent of ozone-depleting substances agreed over time have actually been phased out," says Achim Steiner, executive director of the U.N. Environment Program. If that hadn't happen, "we would be seeing a very substantial global ozone depletion today."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
It's not all good news, though. MIT atmospheric scientist Susan Solomon told AP the chemicals that replaced CFCs contribute to global warming and are expected to increase significantly by 2050.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
-
How would the Trump administration denaturalize immigrant citizens?
Today's Big Question Using civil courts lowers the burden of proof
-
Who has to pay the estate tax?
the explainer Trump's new bill will permanently shift who owes federal estate tax
-
'Trucking is a dangerous business'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
New York plans first nuclear plant in 36 years
Speed Read The plant, to be constructed somewhere in upstate New York, will produce enough energy to power a million homes
-
Dehorning rhinos sharply cuts poaching, study finds
Speed Read The painless procedure may be an effective way to reduce the widespread poaching of rhinoceroses
-
Breakthrough gene-editing treatment saves baby
speed read KJ Muldoon was healed from a rare genetic condition
-
Sea lion proves animals can keep a beat
speed read A sea lion named Ronan beat a group of college students in a rhythmic dance-off, says new study
-
Humans heal much slower than other mammals
Speed Read Slower healing may have been an evolutionary trade-off when we shed fur for sweat glands
-
Novel 'bone collector' caterpillar wears its prey
Speed Read Hawaiian scientists discover a carnivorous caterpillar that decorates its shell with the body parts of dead insects
-
Scientists find hint of alien life on distant world
Speed Read NASA's James Webb Space Telescope has detected a possible signature of life on planet K2-18b
-
Katy Perry, Gayle King visit space on Bezos rocket
Speed Read Six well-known women went into lower orbit for 11 minutes