If today we do only talk about greenhouse gase and heating emissions, in the eighties and nineties of the last century the great enemy to fight was the ozone hole: since a study on 1985 appeared in 1985 Nature which described the phenomenon, scientists and experts from all over the world have mobilized to try to close it.
The efforts were served: thanks to the rules established by the Montreal protocol, an international treaty signed in 1987 with the aim of gradually eliminating the use of substances that reduce the layer of ozone, in particular chlorophalocarbons, now the hole is changing.
But is it really good news? According to a study published on Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics, There is an unexpected negative side: if combined with the growth of air pollution, ozone could contribute to increasing the terrestrial temperature by 40% more than estimated until now.
Plumbee forecast. To reach their conclusions, the researchers have used computational models capable of simulating how the atmosphere will change within mid -century if air pollution will not improve but chlorophalocarbons and hydrochloropalocarbons will be eliminated.
The results show that repairing the ozone hole is an excellent idea for our health (since it restores the barrier against ultraviolet rays), but a little less for the environment: it is estimated that between 2015 and 2050 the ozone will trap 0.27 watts of extra heat per square meter of earth’s surface, becoming in 2050 the second greater taxpayer to global warming after CO2 ( of extra heat trapped is equal to 1.75 watts per square meter).
Do we reopen the hole? So what should we do, reopen the ozone hole? Obviously not: the benefits for our health of prohibitions to the substances that damage the ozonosphere are undoubted, and the decisions made to Montreal must be respected. The researchers, however, underline the importance of updating current climatic policies, taking into account the contribution of the ozone to the increase in global warming.
