World Ozone Day Highlights Progress and Future Action

The ozone layer, a fragile shield of gas, protects the Earth from the harmful portion of the rays of the sun.

Every year on 16 September, the UN celebrates the international community’s success in healing the ozone layer while drawing attention to what more can be done to protect the planet.

In the last century, scientists confirmed the alarming depletion of the ozone layer—an invisible shield of gas that surrounds the Earth and protects it from the sun’s harmful UV rays. The main culprits were ozone-depleting substances such as chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), once widely used in air conditioners, refrigerators, and aerosol cans.

Global action soon followed. Under the Vienna Convention of 1985, countries committed to protect people and the planet from UV radiation. The Convention and its Montreal Protocol became a landmark success in multilateral cooperation.

“Today, the ozone layer is healing,” UN Secretary-General António Guterres said in his message for this year’s World Ozone Day, praising science-driven global unity.

The Montreal Protocol, which monitors and eliminates ozone-depleting substances, has already led to their virtual eradication. Inger Andersen, Executive Director of UNEP, said the ozone hole is now closing, describing this achievement as “multilateralism at its very best.”

Looking ahead, the Kigali Amendment to the Protocol aims to phase down hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), powerful greenhouse gases used in cooling technologies. “Implementing the Kigali Amendment could avoid up to 0.5 degrees Celsius of warming by the end of the century,” said Mr. Guterres.

On World Ozone Day, the UN urged renewed commitment to protect the ozone layer and safeguard people and the planet for generations to come.