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Why September 16?
Since 1995, on 16 September each year, the International Day for the Preservation of the Ozone Layer is celebrated. This date has been designated by the United Nations General Assembly in its resolution 49/114, to commemorate the signing of the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer.
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Since 1995, on 16 September each year, the International Day for the Preservation of the Ozone Layer is celebrated. This date has been designated by the United Nations General Assembly in its
resolution 49/114, to commemorate the signing of the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer.
This commemoration around the world offers an opportunity to focus attention and action at the global, regional and national levels on the protection of the ozone layer. All Member States are invited to devote this special day to promotion, at the national level, of concrete activities in accordance with the objectives and goals of the Montreal Protocol and its Amendment.
Theme for 2007: "Celebrating 20 years of progress in 2007"
Proclaims 16 September the International Day for the Preservation of the Ozone Layer, commemorating the date in 1987 on which the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer was signed, to be observed beginning in 1995.
The Ozone layer
Recent research by
NASA shows that the overall rate of stratospheric ozone depletion is slowing, indicating the possible first stages of recover of the ozone layer. This research supports the broadly held view that, if the Montreal Protocol is fully adhered to, there is a good chance the ozone layer will recover towards the middle of this century.
Whilst the rate of ozone depletion is slowing, the annual ozone hole serves as a timely reminder that we are not out of the woods yet.
The ozone hole, which is actually a thinning of the ozone layer, forms over Antarctica around spring every year and changes in size depending on annual meteorological conditions as well as the rate of ozone depletion. As such, a single year cannot be used to infer a general trend in the ozone hole parameters. This year, according to recent reports from the World Meteorological Organization and the Australian Antarctic Division, meteorological conditions in the Antarctic are ideal for the chemical breakdown of ozone, indicating the potential for a significant hole in the ozone layer to occur over Antarctica this spring.
It is worth remembering that without the Montreal Protocol, by the year 2050 ozone depletion would have risen to at least 50% in the northern hemisphere's mid latitudes and 70% in the southern mid latitudes - about 10 times worse than current levels. The resulting quadrupling in UV-B radiation in the southern mid latitudes would have put Australians at far greater risk of skin cancer and eye cataracts.
This and the research from NASA are clear indications of the success of the Montreal Protocol and that the measures put in place by the Australian Government and the international community to phase out ozone depleting substances are having a positive impact on the health of the ozone layer.
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