Press Release

August 29, 2008
  • Global Environment

The Publication of the FY 2007 Annual Report on Ozone Layer Monitoring

The Ministry of the Environment has compiled the annual report on FY 2007 ozone layer monitoring, covering the status of (i) ozone depletion, (ii) atmospheric concentrations of ozone depleting substances (ODS), and (iii) solar ultraviolet radiation, pursuant to the Law Concerning the Protection of the Ozone Layer through the Control of Specified Substances and Other Measures (the "Ozone Layer Protection Law").

The results of the paper as are follows.
-Global total ozone has been depleted since the early 1990s.
-The area of the ozone hole over the Antarctica in 2007 was the third smallest in the monitoring history of the past decade. The Antarctic ozone layer is still in critical condition.
-Many models have predicted that the total ozone will return to pre-1980 value in middle of this century, with a broad range of uncertainness.
-In the mid latitude areas of the Northern hemisphere, atmospheric concentrations of chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) have remained flat or decreased. On the other hand, the concentrations of hydro chlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs) have been rapidly increasing. The concentration of HFC-134a, which does not deplete the ozone layer but has high greenhouse effects, has also been rapidly increasing, at the rate of 10% per year.


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