World Ozone Day is observed on
September 16, every year. It is celebrated to spread awareness among people
about the depletion of the Ozone Layer and search for possible solutions to
preserve it. On this day, people from all over the world are expected to join
the Montreal protocol to join the talks and seminars. A number of commonly used
chemicals have been found to be extremely damaging to the ozone layer.
Life on Earth would not be
possible without sunlight. But the energy emanating from the sun would be too
much for life on Earth to thrive were it not for the ozone layer. This
stratospheric layer shields Earth from most of the sun’s harmful ultraviolet
radiation.
The Ozone layer or also known as
the Ozone shield, a delicate layer of gas, in the Earth’s stratosphere absorbs
most of the Sun’s ultraviolet rays. These rays can cause numerous skin
diseases.
History
On December 19, 1994, the United
Nations General Assembly proclaimed September 16 the International Day for the
Preservation of the Ozone Layer, commemorating the date, in 1987, on which the
Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer was signed.
On September 16, 1987, the United
Nations and 45 other countries signed the Montreal Protocol, on substances that
deplete the Ozone layer. Every year, this day is celebrated as the
International Day for the Preservation of the Ozone layer.
The purpose of the Montreal
Protocol is to protect the Ozone layer by reducing the production of substances
that are supposed to be responsible for Ozone layer depletion.
The World Ozone Day theme “Ozone
for life” reminds us that ozone is crucial for our life on Earth and we must
continue to protect the ozone layer for our future generations also.
The Protector
The Ozone layer is a piece of the atmosphere that has high ozone concentrations. Ozone is a gas that is made of three oxygen atoms O3. Depending on where the ozone layer is, it can either harm life or protect life on Earth. If it depletes more we would all be more susceptible to impaired immune systems, cataracts, and skin cancer.