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Ozone depletion, gradual thinning of Earth’s ozone layer caused by the release of chemical compounds containing gaseous chlorine or bromine from industry and other human activities. The thinning is most pronounced in the polar regions, especially over Antarctica.
Ozone depletion consists of two related events observed since the late 1970s: a steady lowering of about four percent in the total amount of ozone in Earth's atmosphere, [citation needed] and a much larger springtime decrease in stratospheric ozone (the ozone layer) around Earth's polar regions. [1]
Ozone layer depletion increases the amount of UVB that reaches the Earth’s surface. Laboratory and epidemiological studies demonstrate that UVB causes non-melanoma skin cancer and plays a major role in malignant melanoma development.
The stratosphere includes the zone commonly called the ‘ozone layer’. It plays a crucial role in keeping the planet habitable by absorbing potentially dangerous ultraviolet (UV-B) radiation from the sun. Before its depletion, the ozone layer typically absorbed 97 to 99% of incoming UV-B radiation.
Most of the ozone present in the atmosphere is concentrated in the stratospheric “ozone layer,” about 9 to 22 miles (15 – 35 km) above the surface (around twice the altitude at which commercial airplanes fly).
Climate 101: Ozone Depletion The ozone layer helps to protect life from harmful ultraviolet radiation. Find out what caused the ozone hole, and how the 1989 Montreal Protocol sought to put an...
Learn about how international action under the Montreal Protocol has helped to reverse ozone layer depletion. The ozone layer hole over the Antarctic is expected to disappear by mid-century.