Ozone Layer Over UK Approaches Record Lows - At 50% Of Normal

[hatrack]

"Scientists warned yesterday that levels of protective ozone over Britain are approaching record lows. According to a monitoring centre in Germany, the ozone layer above Britain was reduced to half its normal thickness yesterday, and could get worse today. Ozone shields us from the sun's harmful ultraviolet radiation, which can cause skin cancer and cataracts.

Markus Rex, head of a European ozone monitoring programme in Potsdam, said a combination of the coldest Arctic winter on record and the current high pressure weather system over the north Atlantic had created ideal conditions for ozone loss. "These two processes play together, and together they result in low ozone layer concentrations over the UK. It could get worse, it depends on what happens over the next month."

Dr Rex said the ozone layer over Britain was about 2.5mm thick yesterday, down from the usual 4mm-5mm. Anything below 2mm counts as a hole. An ozone layer half as thick will let in four times as much ultraviolet radiation. Scientists measure ozone thickness in Dobson units, 100 equalling one mm. "It is a significant effect but it is not a completely unusual situation," he said. "And even if we have a large increase in UV, the exposure is still much smaller than in summer when the sun is at its highest."

Ozone depletion is a largely forgotten problem since the Montreal protocol successfully reduced levels of CFC chemicals in the atmosphere, after British scientists in Antarctica reported they were destroying ozone. But the chlorine-containing compounds take decades to degrade, and scientists say thinning of the ozone layer will probably get worse before it gets better. Ozone levels decline over the Arctic and Antarctic in their respective springs as the returning sunlight kicks off the destructive chemical reac tions high in the atmosphere. Low temperatures accelerate this loss and most attention until now has been on the colder Antarctic, where a hole in the ozone layer has opened each spring since the 1980s."

EDIT

http://www.guardian.co.uk/climatechange/story/0,12374,1441310,00.html

[cliss]

1. Over the UK?

"Think, Tony, think!"

As the shit starts to seriously hit the fan, Blair goes into a thermonuclear meltdown. Blair tries to decide what to do about the latest greenhouse-related crisis.

He is facing a bitter re-elecion battle this August.

Blair hopes not too many voters get malignant melanoma, so they can at least 'get out the vote'.

[NNadir]

2. Thank goodness his buddy George is protecting strawberry farmers

in California.

Methyl bromide for strawberry crops is far more important than the poodle's constituents.

Strawberry growers after all pay bribes, whereas poodle peasants are there for our convenience.

[jpak]

3. 250 DU over Europe - Holy COW!!!!

That is really bad news...

[Dogmudgeon]

4. Coldest Arctic winter in history?

And the previous summer was one of the hottest.

The feces have hit the fan.

--p!