Why it matters

The ozone conundrum

10th May 2008

The hole in the ozone layer slows global warming - but what we really need to do is limit our greenhouse gas emissions

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Even as the ozone layer shields the Earth from UV radiation, it also absorbs it – which further contributes to warming the climate.

Atmospheric scientists, led by Judith Perlwitz at the University of Colorado, calculate in the journal Geophysical Research Letters that once the hole in the ozone over Antarctica closes, the south pole will start to heat up.

So far, the southern continent has warmed less than expected, mainly because of wind patterns. But once the hole mends, increased heat-trapping could potentially lead to the meltdown of Antarctic glaciers and a catastrophic rise in sea levels.

So: Damned if we do, damned if we don’t? Should we maintain the holes in the ozone to keep the brake on global warming?

Of course not. “Without the ozone layer, life could not exist as we know it,” Dr. Perlwitz says. “What we need to do is limit our greenhouse-gas emissions.”

Published in The Green Report in The Globe and Mail

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• Tags:
• Climate Change
• Greenhouse Gases
• Ozone Layer

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