Hope for the ozone layer
2004-09-16 07:32
Johannesburg - South Africa's climatologists are recording a decline in the growth-rate of most harmful, ozone-depleting gases in the atmosphere, the weather service said on Wednesday.
On Thursday it would be 17 years since the first agreement to phase out these man-made gases was signed, and there were now definite signs that the international co-operation had paid off, the bureau said.
However, it said the situation would remain vulnerable for at least the next decade, and the government and industry should continue their vigilance.
The 1987 Montreal Protocol was a landmark agreement as it was the first time countries across the globe got together to try to stop the damage that was being wrought on the atmosphere through various human activities.
The protocol outlawed the production of certain gases, such as CFC's found in aerosols. South Africa signed the protocol in 1990 and its industries succeeded in implementing it.
The Cape Point global atmosphere watch station was also created one of only 22 such observatories on the globe.
This station monitors trace gas composition of our atmosphere - including greenhouse gases which are vital for climate change detection and predictions.
In commemoration of the Montreal Protocol the United Nations declared September 16 the International Day for the Preservation of the Ozone Layer.
Ozone buffers the planet from harmful radiation by stopping most UV rays from entering the atmosphere.
The observation station at Cape Point would remain very important in the years to come as scientists searched for the first signs that the ozone layer was recovering, the weather service said.
- SAPA