ABSTRACT
A thin layer of ozone, high in the stratosphere, acts as a shield against harmful solar ultraviolet radiation. A reduction in ozone allows more ultraviolet radiation to reach the earth. This is likely to result in long-term increases in skin cancers and damage to the human immune system. It will also lead to disruption of agriculture, reductions in crop yields, and possible large-scale alterations in a number of ecosystems. Ozone depletion is already a considerable and growing problem; the rate of destruction is so extensive that ‘holes’ in the ozone layer-varying in size, depending on the time of year-have formed over and close to the polar regions.
