Scientists say ozone layer is recovering

The Earth’s protective ozone layer in the upper atmosphere is being destroyed more slowly, US scientists said, adding that it mirrors a decline in the use of certain man-made chemicals.

Using measurements by Nasa satellites, they said the rate of ozone layer depletion matches the drop in the use of chlorofluorocarbons, which are used in fridges and air conditioning units.

The 1987 Montreal Protocols, ratified by more than 170 countries, required that CFCs be phased out of production and use in developing countries by 2010.

Industrialised nations stopped using them in 1996.

But the researchers warned it will take decades to repair the damage that has already been done to the ozone layer, which helps protect the Earth from the sun’s ultraviolet radiation.

“Ozone is still decreasing but just not as fast,” said Mike Newchurch, the associate professor at the University of Alabama who led the study.

“We are still decades away from total ozone recovery.”