ESSAY

ON
OZONE LAYER DEPLETION-
CAUSES,EFFECTS & SOLUTIONS

The environment is protecting sheet to us

from god, if we destroy it, it will uncover
us. We all have experienced the suns
intensity ripping through our skin on a hot
afternoon. We know that the sun is millions of
kilometres away from our planet earth then
why do we still feel the heat?
The rays of the sun contains Ultra Violet(UV)
Rays. UV rays are not all bad, because it
helps human with vitamin D. But too much of
it is very dangerous. Ozone is a colourless
gas which is found in the stratosphere of our
upper atmosphere. The layer of ozone gas is
what which protects us from the harmful UV
radiations of the sun. This layer is
approximately 20 to 30 km above earth. The
thickness of ozone layer varies seasonally &
geographically.
The reduction in the amount of ozone in the
stratosphere is termed as ozone depletion.
Industries that manufacture insulating foams,
solvents, soaps, air-conditioners and
refrigerators use Chlorofluorocarbons (CFC).
Depletion of ozone begins when CFCs get
into the stratosphere by wind action. Ultra
Violet radiations from the sun breaks up these
CFCs and release chlorine atom which react
with ozone, starting a chemical cycle that
destroys ozone in that area. One chlorine
atom can break apart more than 100,000
ozone molecules.
Depletion of the ozone layer has major impact
on life of humans, animals and plants. In
humans, exposure to UV rays can lead to
health issues such as- skin cancer, eye
damage, damage to immune system, difficulty
in breathing etc. UV rays adversely affects the
different species of amphibians causing
deformities, retinal damage & blindness in
some species. It also alters the physiological
& development processes in plants.
At individual level each & everyone can
contribute towards reducing ozone layer
depletion by buying and using recycled
products, saving energy, using public
transport and most important that we can do
is to spread awareness and encourage
people to dispose fire-extinguishers & air-
conditioners unit containing ODS (ozone
depleting substance). Also we can encourage
local political representatives to raise a
campaign to put forth laws governing
fertilizers use as they produce nitrous oxide
which is main culprit in depletion of ozone. So
lets protect our mother who nourish us.
Safe Ozone, our planets safe zone

Submitted by: Ayushi Agarwal

LNCTS- CS- V semester
Section-A