AR ZONE
THE OZONE LAYER EXPLAINED
Learn about the layer of gas that surrounds and protects our planet
WORDS ADAM MANN
DID YOU KNOW? In 2021, the hole in the ozone layer was roughly the size of North America
Ozone can be found in the troposphere in the form of smog
© Getty / Alamy / AR by Adrian Mann
Ozone is a pale-blue gas composed of three bonded oxygen atoms. It occurs naturally high up in Earth’s atmosphere, where it protects the surface from harmful ultraviolet rays – unless dissipated by natural or human phenomena. It’s also considered a pollutant, with adverse effects for humans and other creatures when present closer to the ground. Ozone is a relatively unstable substance and can be destroyed by molecules containing nitrogen, hydrogen, chlorine or bromine, which rip ozone’s you know? third oxygen atom away from its two partners. Starting in the 1950s, The ozone layer scientists began measuring ozone is 10 to 25 miles concentrations above Antarctica, above Earth’s giving them the first hints that there surface was a problem with the ozone layer.