Ozone layer can recoup by 2048

The ozone layer is no longer depleting and could recoup its strength by 2048, says a United Nations report.

The phasing out of nearly 100 substances once used in gadgets like fridges and aerosols has stopped the ozone layer from further depletion, the report says. And it claimed that international efforts to protect the ozone layer have averted millions of cases of skin cancer worldwide.

The ozone layer outside the polar regions is projected to recover to pre-1980 levels by 2048, although the annual springtime ozone hole over the Antarctic is not expected to recover until 2073, reports the Daily Mail.

The report is the first comprehensive update in four years on the Vienna Convention for the Protection of the Ozone Layer and the Montreal Protocol phasing out chemicals which accelerate both ozone layer damage and climate change.