The ozone layer is finally starting to repair itself -not all was bad in 2023!

For environmentalists and those worried about our beloved planet, we have some fantastic news!

A United Nations panel of experts says that the actions of humans have worked, and the hole in the ozone layer could be repaired in just a few decades!

According to UN News, the ozone is very close to being restored thanks to the Montreal Protocol. This international agreement, signed by 46 countries initially, was reached in 1987.

Pictured: the 28th Montreal Protocol meeting. By 2016, 200 countries had signed the agreement.

According to the UN, the agreement "regulates the consumption and production of nearly 100 man-made chemicals, or 'ozone-depleting substances' (ODS)."

Pictured: an inhaler that was banned in the US as it contained ODS.

UN News reports, "The overall phase-down (of ODS) has led to the notable recovery of the protective ozone layer in the upper stratosphere and decreased human exposure to harmful ultraviolet (UV) rays from the sun."

Photo: By NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center Scientific Visualization Studio - NASA, Public Domain

In case you need a little science reminder, according to National Geographic, "The ozone layer is a thin part of Earth's atmosphere that absorbs almost all of the Sun's harmful ultraviolet light."

If the ozone layer has holes ultraviolet radiation can reach the surface of the Earth, resulting in unpleasant consequences for all living things.

According to the BBC, "Ultraviolet rays can damage DNA and cause sunburn, increasing the long-term risk of problems such as skin cancer."

According to National Geographic, the ozone layer began depleting in the 1970s. CFCs or chlorofluorocarbons, which were often found in air conditioners, foam insulation, refrigerators, and spray cans, were blamed for destroying the ozone layer at the time.

Then, in May of 1985, three scientists from the British Antarctic Survey found a large hole in the ozone layer.

Two years later, the Montreal Protocol was passed. According to the BBC, it "became the first UN treaty to achieve universal ratification, and almost 99% of banned ozone-depleting substances have now been phased out."

Pictured: US Secretary of State John Kerry delivers a speech during the 28th Meeting of the Parties to the Montreal Protocol in Kigali, on October 14, 2016.

Many were sceptical that phasing out these ozone-depleting substances would have much effect on the crisis. The fact that the Antarctic ozone hole continued expanding until 2000 didn't help the matter.

Pictured: The largest Antarctic ozone hole recorded as of September 2006

Image: NASA

However, after the year 2000, the ozone layer slowly began repairing itself.

Thanks to the Montreal Protocol, UN News states that "if current policies remain in place, the layer is expected to recover to 1980 values by 2040."

However, the worst damage to the ozone layer is near the poles; thus, recovery of these areas will take longer.

The UN states that recovery over the Antarctic is expected by 2066 and recovery over the Arctic by 2045.

In addition, the UN points out that the policies in the Montreal Protocol must be maintained for the ozone layer to continue to repair itself.

According to the UN panel report, the state of the ozone layer can positively affect global warming, particularly since several of the chemicals phased out due to the Montreal Protocol were potent greenhouse gases.

The BBC reports that by phasing out ozone-depleting substances, humans have stopped up to 1ºC (33.8ºF) of global warming by the middle of the century.

This is definitely excellent news for our beautiful planet and shows how humans can, in fact, do something to slow down climate change.

However, the UN panel does warn that proposals to slow down global warming by some scientists by shooting tonnes of sulphur dioxide into the upper atmosphere (known as a stratospheric aerosol injection) could be detrimental to the ozone layer's recovery and reverse the progress that has been made.