How long can we survive on the planet or is it all over?

Translated into more comprehensible terms this involves an area approximately two and a half times greater than Europe. This means the ozone hole has now spread far beyond the Antarctic Contintent and is now touching the tip of South America.

Disturbing news.

This profoundly disturbing news comes as a great shock. Not only did this years hole defy all previous expectations it also left scientists with no obvious explanation as to why it has become so large. Expressing everyones fears, a spokesman for the World Meterological Organization admitted this was an alarming rate of increase. At one point the hole was doubling in area every two weeks, and no one is sure exactly where it will stop.

Montreal Protocol.

For many environmentalists this latest disclosure constitutes an intense disappointment. In 1987, an international agreement known as the Montreal Protocol agreed to measures that would halve the emission of gases that contribute to ozone depletion. Predominantly these involve chloroflurocarbons and bromides, which although now banned are so concentrated in the atmosphere that ozone depletion will continue for years to come.

If so then we are under supreme time pressure to come up with the answers. An ozone hole over the Antarctic may appear like a distant threat but at current rates of increase it may not be long before it begins to threaten large centres of population.

But just why is the ozone hole so important and why could it become dangerous?

Massive umbrella.

In plain language the ozone layer acts somewhat like a massive umbrella that prevents us receiving too much ultraviolet radiation. Less ozone naturally means not as much protection, leaving us wide open to skin cancer, cataracts and disorders of the immune system. If the ozone hole were to grow much bigger it would mean wider swathes of humanity would face a significant problem. Taken to extremes it could pose an immense hazard to the whole of humanity. If for example the ozone layer were subject to severe depletion then even five minutes exposure to strong sunlight would be enough to cause intense burning.

Long term future.

With the reduction of chloroflurocarbons in the atmosphere, ozone depletion should pose no more than a “temporary” hazard. In this respect “temporary”, probably means in the order of 30 to 40 years. The trouble is that in the short term the problem is getting worse, and although this was expected, the staggering rate of increase has taken experts by surprise.  It may also mean we have not fully understood the problem or the way it is perpetuated. If for instance there is an accumulative effect to ozone depletion, we could soon be faced with a nightmare situation within a very short time.

This makes it all the more imperative that the problem is fully understood before it becomes too late to deal with it!

Conclusions - Have we a future on this planet?

Read our astonishing verdict.