WMO noted ozone layer is recovering despite setbacks like the Tonga eruption, with full recovery expected by 2040
\n SINGAPORE
\nThe world\u2019s ozone layer is on \u201cthe road to long-term recovery\u201d despite a destructive volcanic eruption in the South Pacific, the World Meteorological Organization said on Tuesday, after efforts to phase out ozone-depleting chemicals.
\nOn current trends, the ozone layer is on track to recover to 1980 levels by around 2066 over the Antarctic, 2045 over the Arctic and 2040 for the rest of the world, the United Nations agency said.
\nThough the volcanic eruption near Tonga in early 2022 led to a short period of accelerated depletion of ozone above Antarctica last year, driven by higher levels of atmospheric water vapour, overall losses were limited.
\nThe ozone layer protects the earth from the sun\u2019s ultraviolet radiation, which is linked to skin cancer and other health risks.
\nThe Montreal Protocol, which came into effect in 1989, agreed to phase out chlorofluorocarbons and other ozone-depleting substances, and its success \u201cstands out as a powerful symbol of hope\u201d at a time when multilateral cooperation has come under strain, said UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in a statement.
\nCFCs have been largely replaced by hydrofluorocarbons, which do not cause ozone depletion but are a powerful climate-warming greenhouse gas.
\nCountries are now implementing the 2016 Kigali amendment to Montreal, which will phase down HFC production, and could avoid around 0.5 degrees Celsius of warming by 2100.
\nChina remains the world\u2019s biggest HFC producer, with current capacity the equivalent of nearly 2 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide. About a quarter is exported.
\nChina\u2019s environment ministry said on Monday it would soon publish a plan to better control HFC production. As a developing country, it is obliged to cut HFC consumption by 85% from 2013 to 2045.
\nChina is cutting manufacturing quotas and cracking down on illegal production, but it warned this year it still \u201cfaces huge challenges\u201d in phasing down HFCs, which are used by a wide range of different industries, many of which have struggled to find substitute products.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
WMO noted ozone layer is recovering despite setbacks like the Tonga eruption, with full recovery expected by 2040 SINGAPORE The world\u2019s ozone layer is on \u201cthe road to long-term recovery\u201d despite a destructive volcanic eruption in the South Pacific, the World Meteorological Organization said on Tuesday, after efforts to phase out ozone-depleting chemicals. On current […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":432454,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-432435","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n