The ozone hole and the Montreal Protocol
A global environmental problem is identified and then actually solved.
- When
- —
- Duration
- 2.7 years
- Known to
- ± 1 year
- Era
- Contemporary, Holocene
British Antarctic Survey scientists report severe springtime ozone depletion over Antarctica in 1985, caused by chlorofluorocarbons — satellite data had recorded it but software had discarded the readings as implausible. The Montreal Protocol of 1987 phases CFCs out and is ratified universally. Ozone is recovering and is projected to return to 1980 levels around mid-century. It is the clearest proof that coordinated action on an atmospheric problem can work.