• Question: My question is, is it true that soon the ozone layer will go and altra violet rays will destroy the earth and us? and why?

    Asked by jessh to Adam, Catherine, Karen, Leila, Nazim on 13 Mar 2012.
    • Photo: Adam Stevens

      Adam Stevens answered on 12 Mar 2012:

      Actually the ozone layer has been coming back since we stopped using CFCs (a chemical used in deodorants and other things). There’s still a very thin bit of ozone over antarctica I think, but on the whole it is looking a bit healthier than it was 10-20 years ago.

      Ultraviolet rays (or most of them) are blocked by ozone in the atmosphere, but if the ozone layer wasn’t there it wouldn’t destroy the Earth, just living things. UV is very good at destroying DNA and living cells (we use it to sterilise things by killing the bacteria on them) so it would make short work of all life.

      Mars doesn’t have an ozone layer (it only has a tiny amount of ozone) so it means the surface is practically bleached by UV from the sun.

    • Photo: Leila Battison

      Leila Battison answered on 12 Mar 2012:

      Back in the 1980s, the Ozone layer was in big trouble, because were making a chemical that got into the air and broke down ozone. There was a huge hole in the ozone layer over the south pole, and soon these chemicals were banned. That hole is now healing up.

      But there is another hole over the north pole, this time caused by the cold weather that we’ve been having in the winters. There’s not much we can do about this, but it should fix itself over time.

      I don’t think the ozone layer will completely go away, but if it did, the UV radiation would be extremely bad, and give people skin cancer and damage the plants. The results could be serious for the whole world, but thankfully, I don’t think we will be in that situation .

    • Photo: Karen Masters

      Karen Masters answered on 13 Mar 2012:

      The Ozone layer has been in trouble because of some chemicals which were commonly used until the 80s or 90s. I think it’s recovered since we stopped using those chemicals though.

      And while the UV light wouldn’t be good for us (and if you go to Australia which is near the hole, you should wear extra sunscreen and a hat to be safe), it definitely couldn’t destroy the Earth.

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