By Irina Petropavlovskikh, CIRES and NOAA scientist
International Day for Preservation of Ozone Layer will be celebrated on September 16, 2017 under the auspices of the United Nations Environmental Program ( UNEP), and many international organizations will join in celebration.After 197 countries ratified the multilateral environmental agreement of the Montreal Protocol 30 years ago, UNEP became an implementing Agency of the agreement. This year, UNEP declared “Caring for all life under the Sun” as the theme for the international ozone day . For more information, go to the UNEP webpage.
2017 marks the 30th Anniversary of the Montreal Protocol, and there are several events planned to celebrate that anniversary. A scientific symposium will gather scientists, students, the public, and policy makers in Paris, France on September 19-20 under the theme, “From the safeguard of the ozone layer to the protection of the Earth climate.” Hailed as an example of exceptional international cooperation for the protection of the ozone layer, the Montreal Protocol became the first international treaty to achieve universal ratification, in 2010. In October 2016, the Kigali amendment was added to the Protocol to control the growth of substitutes of ozone depleting substances, some of which are powerful greenhouse gases, and thereby mitigate their impact on the Earth’s climate. More information about the Montreal Protocol is here.
For the current state of the ozone layer at South Pole and to learn what happens to ozone during Antarctic’s spring ozone season, follow this blog and visit NOAA’s South Pole Ozone webpage.
