Australian bushfires have reduced the ozone layer by 5% in 2020

According to a study published in the journal Nature, smoke from the 2019-20 Australian bushfires temporarily reduced the ozone layer by 3-5% in 2020. According to research, particles in bushfire smoke can activate molecules that destroy the ozone layer, and due to the fires Increasing intensity and frequent, ozone recovery is becoming more and more.

research head, Susan Solomon According to the professor, who is an atmospheric researcher at the American Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the destruction of ozone caused by smoke particles is similar to the formation of the Antarctic ozone hole every spring, but it occurs at a much higher temperature. Aerosol smoke can activate chlorine, and the resulting compound destroys ozone molecules. According to Solomon, the amount of chlorine in the stratosphere has been decreasing since the 1987 Montreal Agreement eliminated the use of ozone-depleting CFCs, which is a huge science-and-policy success story. As he said

The question is whether man-made chlorine will dilute and destroy in the atmosphere faster than global climate change will increase the frequency and intensity of such fires.

Dr. Martin JokerThe UNSW lecturer agreed that the ozone hole may regenerate more slowly than expected in the future as a result of more wildfires. He thought it was particularly interesting from Australia’s point of view that the ozone hole was spreading towards the equator, because it could weaken the ozone layer near the area where millions of Australians live.

Solomon and his colleagues determined that the ozone depletion process was triggered by hydrochloric acid in the stratosphere, which dissolves very easily in smog. According to the researcher, it will be important to determine whether the smoke from bushfires in Australia, where local forests are dominated by eucalyptus trees, differs in composition from fires in other regions.

(source: Watchman)