ITS EDUCATION ASIA ARTICLE

Oh no, another ozone threat

By Danny Harrington, MD ITS Education Asia

A report on a study by MIT researchers in Science Daily relates how smoke particles from wildfires can erode the ozone layer – the name given to higher concentrations of ozone in the stratosphere which help to protect against UVA and UVB radiation from the sun.

Studying the huge output of smoke from wildfires in Australia in 2019-20, the team identified a previously unknow chemical reaction which deplete the ozone. Ozone is simply O3 and so any reaction taking that oxygen away stops it being ozone and functioning as a protective shield.

This is a hugely disappointing setback given the great success of getting global agreement and cohesion to reduce the use and ultimate release of CFCs in industrial processes, products and waste. That said, monitoring of the layer has shown improvement since protocols were implemented so with identifying this new threat perhaps a straight-forward extra effort to prevent and curtail wildfires will be successful.