The ozone layer appears to be successfully repairing itself

An iceberg is seen off Ammassalik Island in Eastern Greenland.
(Image credit: AP Photo/John McConnico, File)

Here's proof that when countries work together, good things happen.

In 1985, scientists discovered a huge hole in the ozone layer above the South Pole. The ozone layer absorbs most of the sun's ultraviolet radiation, which can cause skin cancer and damage crops. Man-made chemicals called chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) eat at the ozone layer, and in the late 1980s, 180 countries signed the Montreal Protocol, agreeing to phase out CFCs in order to prevent additional holes from forming.

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Catherine Garcia, The Week US

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.