Earth & Cosmos / Earth, Climate & Environment

Ozone hole and Montreal Protocol

The Antarctic ozone hole (found 1985) was traced to CFC gases, and the Montreal Protocol (1987) phased them out, the first global environmental fix.

Molina and Rowland warned in 1974, and Farman, Gardiner and Shanklin reported the hole in 1985; Crutzen, Molina and Rowland won the 1995 Chemistry Nobel. The Montreal Protocol was adopted on 16 September 1987 and ratified by every country. WMO's 2022 assessment expects Antarctic ozone to return to 1980 levels around 2066; the 2025 hole was the fifth smallest since 1992 and closed on 1 December.