Unified global effort to repair Earth’s ozone layer infuses new life into climate change fight

Special Unified global effort to repair Earth’s ozone layer infuses new life into climate change fight
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A NOAA ozonesonde — an instrument used to monitor the Antarctic ozone hole — ascends over the South Pole in this time-lapse photo. The hole on track to mend itself. (Courtesy of Yuya Makino/IceCube)
Special Unified global effort to repair Earth’s ozone layer infuses new life into climate change fight
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This time-lapse photo shows the path of an ozonesonde as it rises into the atmosphere in the South Pole. (Courtesy of Robert Schwarz/South Pole, 2017)
Special Unified global effort to repair Earth’s ozone layer infuses new life into climate change fight
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Satellite observations determined the ozone hole reached its annual maximum area of 26.4 million sq. km. on Oct. 5, 2022.(NOAA image)
Special Unified global effort to repair Earth’s ozone layer infuses new life into climate change fight
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A NOAA ozonesonde — an instrument used to monitor the Antarctic ozone hole — ascends over the South Pole in this time-lapse photo. (Courtesy of Yuya Makino/IceCube)
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Updated 29 January 2023

Unified global effort to repair Earth’s ozone layer infuses new life into climate change fight

Unified global effort to repair Earth’s ozone layer infuses new life into climate change fight
  • Scientists say the hole in the planet’s shield, first detected in the 1980s, will return to normal by around 2066 
  • Same cooperation seen under the 1987 Montreal Protocol needed to slow global warming, say experts

LONDON: You cannot see it with the naked eye but high over your head, just above the altitude at which the highest-flying passenger jets cruise, there is a fragile layer of naturally occurring gas that shields all life on Earth from the deadly effects of the ultraviolet radiation emitted by the sun.

This is the ozone shield, a belt of gas — specifically ozone, or O3, which is made of three oxygen atoms — formed by the natural interaction of solar ultraviolet radiation with O2, the oxygen we breathe.

Without it, we’d all be cooked. In the words of the UN Environment Program’s Ozone Secretariat, “long-term exposure to high levels of UV-B threatens human health and damages most animals, plants and microbes, so the ozone layer protects all life on Earth.”

But now, after decades of battling to save it — and us — scientists have announced that the hole in the ozone layer, which was detected in the 1980s, is healing.

The announcement this month is a victory for one of the greatest international scientific collaborations the world has ever seen. And, as the world struggles to tackle climate change, it is a timely and hugely encouraging demonstration of what the international community can achieve when it really puts its mind to something.

As the nations of the world prepare to gather at the UN Climate Change Conference, COP28, in the UAE, where in November they will be expected to account for the progress they have made toward the climate-change goals set by the 2015 Paris Agreement, the brilliant success of the ozone-saving 1987 Montreal Protocol can only be an inspiration.




A scientist launches a research balloon at Australia’s Giles Weather Station. (Shutterstock)

The ozone layer, and its role in absorbing the sun’s ultraviolet radiation, was first identified by two French physicists, Charles Fabry and Henri Buisson, in 1913, but it was not until 1974 that an article in the journal Nature warned that we were in danger of destroying it.

Chemists F. Sherwood Rowland, of the University of California Irvine, and Mario Molina, of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, discovered that human-created gases, such as the chlorofluorocarbons, or CFCs, used in appliances and products such as fridges and aerosols, were destroying ozone.

In 1995, Rowland and Molina, together with Dutch scientist Paul Crutzen, were awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry “for their work in atmospheric chemistry, particularly concerning the formation and decomposition of ozone.”

But, the Nobel citation continued, “the real shock came” in 1985, when scientists with the British Antarctic Survey, which had been monitoring the Antarctic ozone layer since 1957, detected “a drastic depletion of the ozone layer over the Antarctic.”

The size of the hole identified over the survey’s Halley and Faraday Antarctic research stations seemed to vary, which at first was a puzzle.

It is now understood, the BAS explains, “that during the polar winter, clouds form in the Antarctic ozone layer and chemical reactions in the clouds activate ozone-destroying substances.

“When sunlight returns in the spring, these substances — mostly chlorine and bromine from compounds such as CFCs and halons — take part in efficient catalytic reactions that destroy ozone at around 1 percent per day.”

The discovery “changed the world.” NASA satellites were used to confirm that “not only was the hole over British research stations, but it covered the entire Antarctic continent.”

This was the so-called “ozone hole” and, as Crutzen noted in his 1995 Nobel lecture, “it was a close call.”

He said: “Had Joe Farman and his colleagues from the British Antarctic Survey not persevered in making their measurements in the harsh Antarctic environment … the discovery of the ozone hole may have been substantially delayed and there may have been far less urgency to reach international agreement on the phasing out of CFC production.”

It was the work of the survey that led to the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer, an agreement, adopted in 1987, that regulated the production and consumption of nearly 100 man-made chemicals identified as “ozone depleting substances.”

“There had been suggestions in the 1960s and 1970s that you could put gases into the atmosphere which would destroy ozone,” atmospheric scientist Professor John Pyle, former head of chemistry at the University of Cambridge and one of the four international co-chairs on the Scientific Assessment Panel for the Montreal Protocol, told Arab News.

“At the time there was also concern about the oxides of nitrogen from high-flying supersonic aircraft, such as Concorde, which could destroy ozone.




This time-lapse photo shows the path of an ozonesonde as it rises into the atmosphere in the South Pole. (Courtesy of Robert Schwarz/South Pole, 2017)

“But after Rowland and Molina published their paper, suggesting that CFC gases could get high enough up into the atmosphere to destroy ozone, there was about a decade during which this was just a theoretical idea before, thanks to the British Antarctic Survey, the ozone hole was discovered.”

The global reaction, choreographed by the UN and the World Meteorological Organization, was almost startlingly rapid.

The British Antarctic Survey paper was published in 1985, and by 1987 the Montreal Protocol had been agreed. In the words of the UN Environment Program: “The protocol is considered to be one of the most successful environmental agreements of all time.

“What the parties to the protocol have managed to accomplish since 1987 is unprecedented, and it continues to provide an inspiring example of what international cooperation at its best can achieve.”

Without doubt, millions of people have lived longer, healthier lives thanks to the Montreal Protocol. In 2019, the US Environmental Protection Agency estimated that in the US alone the protocol had prevented 280 million cases of skin cancer, 1.6 million deaths, and 45 million cases of cataracts.




Combo image released by NASA's Earth Observatory on Dec. 1, 2009, showing the size and shape of the ozone hole each year in 1979 (L) and in 2009. (AFP file)

The battle is not over, however. It will take another four decades for the ozone layer to fully recover, according to the latest four-yearly report from the UN-backed Scientific Assessment Panel to the Montreal Protocol on Ozone Depleting Substances, which was published this month.

But according the “Scientific Assessment of Ozone Depletion: 2022” report: “The phase out of nearly 99 percent of banned ozone-depleting substances has succeeded in safeguarding the ozone layer, leading to notable recovery of the ozone layer in the upper stratosphere and decreased human exposure to harmful ultraviolet (UV) rays from the sun.”

If current policies remain in place, it adds, “the ozone layer is expected to recover to 1980 values” — that is, before the appearance of the ozone hole — “by around 2066 over the Antarctic, by 2045 over the Arctic, and by 2040 for the rest of the world.”




Ozone timelines from the UNEP's Scientific Assessment of Ozone Depletion report of 2022.

This is “fantastic news,” Meg Seki, executive secretary of the UN Environment Program’s Ozone Secretariat, told Arab News. And it has had an additional benefit in the fight against global warming.

In 2016, an additional agreement, known as the Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol, resulted in the scaling down of production and consumption of hydrofluorocarbons, or HFCs, the compounds that were introduced to replace banned CFCs but which were found to be powerful climate change gases. It is estimated that by 2100, the Kigali Amendment will have helped to prevent up to 0.5 degrees Celsius of global warming.

“The impact the Montreal Protocol has had on climate-change mitigation cannot be overstressed,” said Seki. “Over the past 35 years, the protocol has become a true champion for the environment.”




Delegates converse during the 28th meeting of the Parties to the Montreal Protocol in Kigali, Rwanda, on Oct. 13, 2016. (AFP file)

It is also a shining example of what could be achieved in the battle against climate change.

Sept. 16 each year is the UN’s International Day for the Preservation of the Ozone Layer. As Antonio Guterres, the UN’s secretary-general, said as he marked the occasion in 2021: “The Montreal Protocol … has done its job well over the past three decades. The ozone layer is on the road to recovery.”

He added: “The cooperation we have seen under the Montreal Protocol is exactly what is needed now to take on climate change, an equally existential threat to our societies.”

 


In Dhaka, civil society initiatives prevent Ramadan food waste

In Dhaka, civil society initiatives prevent Ramadan food waste
Updated 01 April 2023

In Dhaka, civil society initiatives prevent Ramadan food waste

In Dhaka, civil society initiatives prevent Ramadan food waste
  • During the holy month, excess food is collected from iftar events around the capital
  • Bidyanondo Foundation’s Iftar Car collects leftover items for distribution to the needy

DHAKA: Bangladeshi civil society organizations are trying to prevent food waste during Ramadan, organizing special collections of unsold items for orphanages and poor communities.

During the fasting month that teaches moderation and charity, excess food, especially from iftar events organized at hotels and restaurants in the Bangladeshi capital, is collected.

Bidyanondo Foundation, one of the largest social welfare organizations in the country, is operating a special Iftar Car to collect and distribute unsold or leftover items as well as raise awareness about food security.

“Ramadan is a month of compassion and fellowship. Any wastage of food is contradictory to the spirit of Ramadan,” Salman Khan, the foundation’s communications chief, told Arab News on Saturday.

“Our Iftar Car collects food from donors immediately and distributes it among the destitute people ... every day, we are receiving iftar food for 600-700 people.”

Iftar Car pickups take place in the early afternoon and after people break their fasts at dusk.

Donors are obliged to keep the food cool so that it remains fresh before volunteers redistribute it a few hours later.

“We need to be prudent to prevent food waste in society. Everyone should keep this in mind as this is the true lesson of Ramadan,” Khan said. “Instead of wasting food, we should share it. We believe in this spirit of sharing.”

Besides the Iftar Car, Bidyanondo is also in touch with restaurants, caterers and food delivery services. Some have regularly supported the foundation beyond the fasting month.

“Sometimes, people cancel the ordered food, which is already paid. We have a collaboration with Food Panda, and during night hours around 10 p.m., our volunteers collect food from their local hubs,” Khan said, adding that Food Panda records dozens of order cancellations every day.

“Every night, we distribute this food to the people who sleep on the streets. From Food Panda, we receive burgers, pizza, sandwiches and biryani. These sorts of dishes underprivileged people can’t even imagine affording.”

Awareness of food waste is high in Bangladeshi society, and individual restaurateurs, as well food stores, also join efforts to prevent hunger with their own local initiatives. At the White Hall Buffet in Dhaka, whose all-you-can-eat service is especially popular during iftars, staff make sure to minimize food waste.

“People take a bunch of items during the iftar period. But an empty stomach after day-long fasting can’t consume so much ... our restaurant staffers immediately sort out the leftover food and pack it for distribution,” Russel Biswas, the restaurant’s manager, told Arab News.

“We don’t need to travel far to distribute the food packets. As our restaurant is located next to a busy road of the Dhanmondi residential area, we find dozens of underprivileged children and beggars in front of our restaurant building.”

In Mohammadpur, another part of Dhaka, Sadeeq Agro, a grocery store chain, gathers unsold food and delivers it to nearby orphanages.

“Usually, our vehicles collect the unsold items from the outlets by 11:30 p.m. every night, and by the next hour, they reach the orphanages with the food,” said Salma Suraiya Asha, the company’s marketing chief.

“Any sort of food wastage is not acceptable at all. We don’t allow it.”


Pakistan army says ‘terrorists’ from Iran side kill four soldiers

Pakistan army says ‘terrorists’ from Iran side kill four soldiers
Updated 19 min 23 sec ago

Pakistan army says ‘terrorists’ from Iran side kill four soldiers

Pakistan army says ‘terrorists’ from Iran side kill four soldiers
  • The incident took place in Kech district in southwestern Baluchistan province
  • No one has claimed responsibility

QUETTA, Pakistan: Pakistan’s army said on Saturday that attackers from Iran killed four of its border patrol soldiers.
“A group of terrorists operating from Iranian side attacked a routine border patrol of Pakistani security forces operating along Pakistan-Iran Border,” the army said in a statement.
The incident took place in Kech district in southwestern Baluchistan province, which shares a long lawless border with Afghanistan and Iran.
The army said Pakistani authorities were making contact with Iran to seek ways of preventing such incidents in future.
No one has claimed responsibility.
Insurgent ethnic Baluch nationalist groups in the area say they are fighting for a greater share of regional resources. The Baluch groups operate on both side of the border.
The province is rich in minerals and also has the deep-water Gawadar port, which is being developed with Chinese money as part of Beijing’s $65 billion “Belt and Road” investment in Pakistan.

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Climate activists turn landmark Rome fountain black

Climate activists turn landmark Rome fountain black
Updated 01 April 2023

Climate activists turn landmark Rome fountain black

Climate activists turn landmark Rome fountain black
  • Three activists from the anti-climate change organisation Last Generation poured a vegetable-based carbon liquid into the landmark
  • The fountain, in the shape of a boat, was designed by famed Italian sculptor Pietro Bernini

ROME: Climate activists in Italy turned a Baroque-style fountain at the foot of Rome’s Spanish Steps black on Saturday, in a protest they said evoked an “end of the world” scenario.
Three activists from the anti-climate change organization Last Generation poured a vegetable-based carbon liquid into the landmark 17th-century fountain, known to Romans as La Barcaccia, before being escorted away by police.
The fountain, in the shape of a boat, was designed by famed Italian sculptor Pietro Bernini.
Popular tradition has it he was inspired by the discovery in 1598 of a boat in the square after it was washed inland by a flooding Tiber river, Last Generation said.
Turning the water black “foreshadows the ‘end of the world’ scenario we are heading for, as we increasingly step on the accelerator: drought alternating with devastating floods, which will put an end to life on Earth, along with heat waves,” it said in a statement.
Last Generation began carrying out peaceful but disruptive protests in Italy last year ahead of the general election, urging politicians from all parties to make climate change their priority.
The protests in Italy are part of a series of actions across Europe to focus attention on climate change.
Activists have thrown soup, cake, mashed potatoes or washable paint at heritage and culture sites and artworks in museums.


Muslim man, 73, hospitalized in UK after assault near mosque

Muslim man, 73, hospitalized in UK after assault near mosque
Updated 01 April 2023

Muslim man, 73, hospitalized in UK after assault near mosque

Muslim man, 73, hospitalized in UK after assault near mosque
  • Police arrest 16-year-olds after CCTV footage reveals brutal unprovoked attack in Birmingham
  • Police: ‘We understand the concern this has caused within the community, especially those observing Ramadan’

London: A 73-year-old Muslim man in the UK has been hospitalized after being attacked on his way home from a mosque, Metro newspaper reported.
Two 16-year-olds were arrested and taken into custody following the assault, which was captured on CCTV in the city of Birmingham.
The video shows the man falling and hitting his head as a result of the attack. Police arrived at the scene as the man was rushed to hospital suffering from a broken hand and lacerations to the face.
West Midlands Police Inspector Neil Kirkpatrick said: “We’ve all been appalled by this attack and we’ve had teams working around the clock to identify suspects. We’ve made two arrests and this remains a very active investigation.
“We understand the concern this has caused within the community, especially those observing the holy month of Ramadan.
“We’re grateful for the support we’ve received, and we’re linking in with faith leaders and working with street stewards from local mosques to reassure the community.”
The assault follows attacks in Birmingham and London, when two mosque-goers were set on fire in separate incidents. A man has been arrested in connection with the two attacks.
The family of the 73-year-old victim said: “We would ask for the public to be calm and that they help the police with their investigation. We would also ask that people have respect for our privacy whilst we help our father to recover.”


Kyiv says Russian UN Security Council presidency is 'symbolic blow'

Kyiv says Russian UN Security Council presidency is 'symbolic blow'
Updated 01 April 2023

Kyiv says Russian UN Security Council presidency is 'symbolic blow'

Kyiv says Russian UN Security Council presidency is 'symbolic blow'
  • On Saturday Russia took over the presidency of the UN's top security body, which rotates every month
KYIV: A top Ukrainian official on Saturday criticised the 'symbolic blow' of Russia assuming the rotating presidency of the United Nations Security Council.
"It's not just a shame. It is another symbolic blow to the rules-based system of international relations," Andriy Yermak, the Ukrainian president's chief of staff, wrote in English on Twitter.
On Saturday Russia took over the presidency of the UN's top security body, which rotates every month. The last time Moscow held the post was in February 2022, when its troops launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
The Kremlin said on Friday it planned to "exercise all its rights" in the role.
The United States on Thursday urged Russia to "conduct itself professionally" when it assumes the role, saying there was no means to block Moscow from the post.
Ukrainian official Yermak also hit out at Iran, who Kyiv and its allies accuse of supplying Russia with arms, including hundreds of assault drones which have menaced Ukrainian infrastructure facilities. Tehran denies supplying Russia with weapons.
"It is very telling that on the holiday of one terror state – Iran - another terror state – Russia – begins to preside over the UN Security Council," Yermak wrote, referring to Iran's Islamic Republic Day holiday