Forest fires can delay the recovery of the ozone layer

The most common and most severe forest fires due to global warming.
A new study found that more fires in the warmer world could slow down the recovery of the ozone layer.

Satellite observations have shown that smoke from an Australian fire hit a layer two years ago that protects the Earth from harmful ultraviolet rays.

Research has shown that atmospheric fires are very serious and trigger a series of chemical reactions that damage the ozone layer.

It was not until March 2020 that scientists calculated that the total ozone depletion was 1%.

He argues that this could reverse the progress made in recent decades in banning ozone-depleting chemicals. In medium latitudes, the ozone layer is declining by about 1% per decade. The damage caused by the forest fires could slow it down, said Professor Susan Solomon of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the United States, who is leading the study.

“All global efforts to reduce chlorofluorocarbons (ozone-depleting chemicals previously used in aerosol dispensers) are ineffective in areas where there have been serious fires,” Spanish said. .

“The best hope is that we can also reduce global warming and stop burning, but of course it’s even more difficult.” Professor Claire Murphy (Paton-Walsh) of the University of Wollongong said in a commentary to the study published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences that ozone depletion from large fires is likely to return and predicted an increase in shelling. in the climate. . in the coming decades.

“Any delay in ozone recovery between latitudes could increase the overall exposure of Australians to UV radiation, which could affect the incidence of skin cancer in the future,” he said. An influential group of scientists warned in a groundbreaking report on Monday that climate change is leading to more frequent adverse weather events, such as fires, floods and storms.