The ozone hole that had appeared suddenly at the North Pole in March 2020 has now finally closed again.
According to the Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS), the ozone hole over the Arctic is the largest ever recorded and has closed again.
For information, the ozone layer of the Earth's atmosphere functions as a protective layer on the Earth's surface from harmful ultraviolet radiation from the sun.
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Quoted from Mind-Rakyat.com from AccuWeather, it turns out that the ozone hole has nothing to do with climate change, global warming, or reducing air pollution due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
CAMS monitors the unusual ozone hole forming in the Arctic and has been closed since April 23, 2020.
"The unprecedented 2020 northern hemisphere ozone hole has ended," tweeted the European Union's Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS), @CopernicusECMWF.
Improvements in ozone have also changed the circulation of air in the atmosphere. This affects atmospheric temperature, weather, rainfall levels, and can cause changes in sea temperature and salt concentration.
The ozone layer is part of the atmosphere in the Earth's stratosphere. This layer protects Earth's citizens from ultraviolet radiation from the Sun. Without this protective layer of radiation, almost nothing can survive on Earth. One of the researchers from the University of Colorado Boulder, Antara Banerjee admitted to using data from satellite observations and climate simulations to detect ozone recovery. Banerjee et al also modeled changes in wind patterns associated with ozone layer recovery.
With that method, Banerjee conveys ozone recovery thanks in large part to the internationally agreed Montreal Protocol in 1987, which prohibits the production of ozone-depleting substances, such as CFCs. he said.
Banerjee said the depletion of the ozone hole was due to the Montreal Agreement, which was agreed in 1987. The agreement, which was to reduce the use of CFCs, was considered to have succeeded in reversing the damage that humans had done to the planet Earth.
"If we stick to this protocol then the ozone hole is projected to recover. In some areas, we think it may be in the coming decades and in others well into the end of the century," he said. He predicted a return to 1980s ozone conditions. can only happen around 2030 in the northern hemisphere. As for the southern hemisphere in 2050, and the ozone layer in Antarctica can only recover in the late 2060s.
Launching New Scientist, the ozone hole makes air currents called latitude jet streams in the southern hemisphere gradually shift to the South Pole before 2000.
However, based on their study, this jet stream stopped in 2000 and even reversed direction. This cessation of movement begins when the ozone hole improves.
Martyn Chipperfield of the University of Leeds who was not involved in the study said he had seen signs that the ozone layer was recovering and said the study was the next step to look at the effects of ozone recovery on climate change. other than that, several countries in Europe have adopted a lockdown policy to contain the spread of the coronavirus. This policy is believed to be able to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.
Due to the lockdown, people's mobility is very limited. This also affects the air condition which is getting fresher.
Reporting to Al Jazeera, this lockdown policy can improve air quality for the better and is equivalent to preventing deaths from air pollution by up to 11,300.
According to researchers at the Helsinki-based Center for Energy and Clean Air Research (CREA), air pollution in Europe has also fallen dramatically as hundreds of millions of people have stayed at home over the past month. for a month," said Lauri Myllyvirta, chief analyst at the Center for Clean Energy and Air Research (CREA).
"Our analysis highlights the tremendous benefits to public health and quality of life that can be achieved by reducing fossil fuels in a fast and sustainable way," he explained.
The benefits of lockdowns in Germany, Britain, and Italy are equivalent to preventing premature deaths of more than 1,500 in each country. The average European citizen was exposed to nitrogen dioxide levels 37 percent below what would normally be expected in the 30 days ending April 24, it said. CREA.
Exposure to particulate matter, which is generated by transportation, industry, and coal-fired heating, is 12 percent below normal levels, according to the study covering 21 European countries.
According to CREA, if these pollution reduction conditions were sustained at the current scale, it could prevent 1.3 million fewer days of absence from work and less than 6,000 cases of asthma in children. For example in Jakarta, the figure fell 15 percent with the average value in 2020 of 26.87 mg/m3. This figure is still high because Indonesia applies the PM 2.5 quality standard of 15 mg/m3, while according to WHO guidelines, the PM 2.5 quality standard should be 10 mg/m3.
Then in Jambi, the figure fell slightly by 3 percent with an average in 2020 of 14.01 mg/m3. Then in Padang, it fell 18 percent with an annual average value of 10.2 mg/m3.
In Aceh, it fell 14 percent with an annual average of 10.88 mg/m3. In Batam, it fell 16 percent with an annual average value of 14.17 mg/m3. "Then in Makassar, it fell 15 percent with an average value in 2020 of 9.22 mg/m3," explained Karliansyah.
To improve air quality, Karliansyah encourages people to use alternative walking for short distances, bicycles as a medium distance mode, and public transportation for long distances.
"Of course, public transportation must use environmentally friendly fuels and complete combustion so that it does not produce emissions," he explained.