REPORT / INTERNATIONAL NEWS

International efforts to protect the ozone layer—the shield that protects life on Earth from harmful levels of ultraviolet rays-are a success and have stopped additional ozone losses. They have also contributed in mitigating the greenhouse effect, according to a new report. The scientific assessment of Ozone Depletion 2010 provides new information about the effects of climate change on the ozone layer, as well as the impact of ozone changes on the Earth’s climate.

The report published by the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) says that an important remaining scientific challenge is to project future ozone abundance based on an understanding of the complex linkages between ozone and climate change. The report was written and reviewed by some 300 scientists and launched on the UN International Day for the Preservation of the Ozone Layer. The report reaffirms that the Montreal Protocol is working. “It has protected the stratospheric ozone layer from much higher levels of depletion by phasing out production and consumption of ozone depleting substances,” says the report.