Smoke from Forest Fires Damages the Ozone Layer

KOMPAS.com – A new study shows that smoke from Forest fires can thin out more ozone layer and delay recovery.

Ozone layer located in the lower stratosphere of Earth, at an altitude of between 15 and 35 km. The ozone layer reflects large amounts of the Sun’s damaging UV rays, which keep the planet habitable.

But in the mid-1980s a hole was discovered in the seam. The world is united to overcome this problem by signing the Montreal Protocol which prohibits the use of CFCs that can have a negative impact on ozone.

The ozone hole has been shrinking since then. But it didn’t last long.

Also read: Prevent Forest Fires, UGM Researchers Make Unmanned Aircraft for Early Detection of Fire

Quoting the New Atlas, Monday (7/3/2022) when forest fires hit Australia in late 2019 and early 2020, more than 24 million hectares of land burned.

From the fire, more than a million tons of smoke particles were released atmosphere which reaches an altitude of up to 35 km and is part of the upper region of the ozone layer.

Researchers then investigated whether the smoke from the forest fires could trigger a chemical reaction that destroys ozone using complex simulations of chemical reactions.

“This is the first time that science has used a chemical mechanism to link wildfire smoke with ozone depletion,” said Susan Solomon, lead author of the study.

From the results of the analysis, the researchers also estimated that the smoke from the fire would consume up to one percent of the ozone column.

Considering that the recovery of the ozone hole takes a long time, this event also makes the ozone recovery carried out in the last 10 years in vain.

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