Every year 16 September is dedicated to a cause which may not be relevant in appearance but is most important in today’s time and era. Following an agreement in 1987 called the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer by almost every country, the United Nations General Assembly declared the day in 1994 as the International Day for the Depletion of the Ozone Layer.
History and Significance
Humans have been a threat to the natural pattern of the blue planet. One of the consequences of unintentional actions that harmed the environment was the depletion of the delicate layer of gas that protects people on Earth from harmful cosmic rays, called the ozone layer.
The Montreal Protocol was a deal for countries around the world to prevent the existence of all ozone-depleting substances such as aerosols, chlorofluorocarbons, halons, etc., which were widely used for cooling and refrigeration purposes. The use of such harmful substances caused a hole in the ozone layers in Antarctica, first discovered in 1970, which has led to rapid global warming over the past 20 years.
However, the 1985 Vienna Convention that gave rise to the Montreal Protocol put a dent in the deadly depletion of the ozone layer, and in January 2021, according to the World Meteorological Organization, the hole finally closed due to the collective efforts of the entire world. .
International Day 2021 for the Protection of the Ozone Layer: Theme
This year’s theme for the International Day for the Prevention of the Ozone Layer is ‘Montreal Protocol – Keeping us, our food and vaccines cool’. The theme for the year 2021 has been chosen to highlight the long-term consequences of the 35-year-old protocol, which has been ratified for the first time by all 197 members of the United Nations.
In India, the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change prepared the India Cooling Action Plan (ICAP) in 2019, which aims to provide an integrated vision towards reducing refrigerant transitions, increasing energy efficiency and curbing cooling demands. The ICAP is in line with the theme of the day in 2021.
According to experts, the ozone layer is projected to return to pre-1980 levels by the year 2050.
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