The Montreal Protocol, an international agreement signed in 1987 to prevent the production of chemicals responsible for depleting ozone in the atmosphere, is showing its fruits. Study shows that the hole in the layer ozone is being replenished consistently, with which the international efforts taken in the 1980s serve as an example to respond to other pressing environmental problems that we face today at a global level.

During the 70s and 80s, the world became aware that the production and consumption of chlorofluorocarbons had a very negative effect on the ozone layer in the atmosphere, which facilitated the arrival of ultraviolet radiation to Earth, with the consequent damage to life. This led to the signing of the Montreal Protocol, but in recent decades it has been difficult to demonstrate the desired effects on the atmosphere, since ozone is produced in the stratosphere at a very slow rate. This difficulty has led to doubts about the usefulness of the Protocol, and other similar initiatives will be questioned, for example, against greenhouse gases.

Earlier this decade NASA launched the Aurora satellite specifically to monitor the chemical components of the atmosphere. The data collected by Aurora shows that the level of chlorine is decreasing in the Antarctic stratosphere, and that ozone destruction is decreasing in conjunction, so the Montreal Protocol is working.