<
https://www.sciencealert.com/wildfire-smoke-stands-to-deplete-the-ozone-layer-scientists-warn>
"The smoke from recent wildfires is threatening to slow and even reverse the
recovery of Earth's ozone layer – the same one that the world has worked so
hard to heal since 1987.
The ozone layer is a crucial part of the stratosphere that stops our planet
from getting scorched by the Sun's radiation.
It's important for the health of all plants and animals that it stays intact,
yet thanks to the historical use of synthetic pollutants called
chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), there's a big old hole in Earth's atmospheric
armor, right over Antarctica.
Thanks to an international agreement to ban CFCs in 1987, the hole in the ozone
is gradually shrinking. In 2019, the opening was the smallest on record since
1982, when it was first discovered.
It's one of humanity's greatest success stories. But it's not over yet.
In 2021, the hole above Antarctica began to swell once again – a year after the
devastating megafires that burned 60 million acres of vegetation in Australia.
And that's probably no coincidence.
A new study on Australia's recent megafires has found smoke particles in the
stratosphere could deplete the ozone layer for well over a year. As the
particles age, they may even become more destructive."
Via Rixty Dixet.
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
