International Day for the Preservation of the Ozone Layer
16 September 2026 — The umbrella over Earth holds strong, and the ozone hole is slowly healing!
On 16 September 1987, the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer was signed. In 1994 the UN General Assembly proclaimed 16 September the International Day for the Preservation of the Ozone Layer. The ozone layer is a thin band of ozone gas high in the atmosphere (the stratosphere). It absorbs much of the Sun's harmful ultraviolet radiation, protecting people, plants and marine life. The Protocol gradually phased out chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs, chemical compounds once used in refrigerators and aerosol sprays) and related substances. According to UN assessments, the ozone layer is recovering and, if efforts continue, could return to 1980 levels by around 2040 for most of the world and by around 2066 over Antarctica. It is a rare example of successful global cooperation, and a reminder that shared decisions can work. Look up at the sky: the sunlight that reaches us has passed through an invisible shield that blocks its most harmful rays.
Flying across the sky: An ethereal, bluish-silver star figure made of bright dots and fine lines, like a constellation drifting across the sky: a small Earth holding a translucent umbrella above itself
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