New research has key that unregulated chemical substance in the atmosphere could significantly delay the recovery of the ozone layer . According to a novel paper , publish inNature Communications , a chemical substance called dichloromethane could delay the closing of the ozone maw by five to 30 years .
Long - lived Cl - based chemicals know as CFC ( CFCs ) were responsible for the depletion of the stratospheric ozone stratum . The position became decisive over Antarctica , with CFCs banned in 1987 with the insertion of the UN Montreal Protocol .
Thanks to the ban , the ozone level began to bring around , and it was estimated that it would wholly recover sometime between 2046 and 2057 . But the increase in curtly - lived ozone - depleting substances like methylene chloride are pushing that date back .
" Dichloromethane is a gentleman’s gentleman - made ozone - depleting chemical that has a range of industrial covering , " leave generator Dr Ryan Hossaini of Lancaster University said in astatement . " Unlike CFCs and similar long - populate flatulency that are responsible for most ozone depletion , dichloromethane has a short atmospherical life-time so has not been manipulate by the Montreal Protocol . Despite this , increased yield has led to a rapid step-up in its atmospherical engrossment over the past decade . ”
Hossain and his team estimate that between 2000 and 2012 , low - height concentrations of methylene chloride increase by about 8 percentage per yr . And if we take the atmosphere as a whole , the concentration of this chemical substance has almost doubled between 2004 and 2014 . Every year , about 1 million metric tons of methylene chloride are exhaust .
" While ozone depletion from methylene chloride is presently quite modest , it is unsettled how the amount of this gas in the atmosphere will exchange in the hereafter , " said Hossaini . " Our results show that continued sustained growing in its concentration could well delay retrieval of the ozone stratum , offsetting some of the succeeding benefits of the Montreal Protocol . "
Understanding the long - terminal figure shock of these gas pedal can help oneself scientist bring out better fashion model of the ozone teemingness in the atmosphere and how changes in distribution can bear on the wide clime of our planet .
" We should be mindful of the growing threat to stratospheric ozone posed by methylene chloride and similar chemicals not controlled by the Montreal Protocol , " keep Dr Hossaini . " There is work to be done to better translate and measure their chief sources to the ambience . "
The ozone layer protects us and every other living being from the harmful ultraviolet radiation of the Sun . Its recovery is incredibly authoritative .
