About

• The ozone layer or ozone shield is a region of Earth’s stratosphere that absorbs most of the Sun’s ultraviolet radiation. It contains a high concentration of ozone (O3) in relation to other parts of the atmosphere, although still small in relation to other gases in the stratosphere. The ozone layer contains less than 10 parts per million of ozone, while the average ozone concentration in Earth’s atmosphere as a whole is about 0.3 parts per million. The ozone layer is mainly found in the lower portion of the stratosphere, from approximately 15 to 35 kilometers (9 to 22 mi) above Earth, although its thickness varies seasonally and geographically. The ozone layer absorbs 97 to 99 percent of the Sun’s medium-frequency ultraviolet light (from about 200 nm to 315 nm wavelength), which otherwise would potentially damage exposed life forms near the surface.

• In 1976, atmospheric research revealed that the ozone layer was being depleted by chemicals released by industry, mainly chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs). Concerns that increased UV radiation due to ozone depletion threatened life on Earth, including increased skin cancer in humans and other ecological problems, led to bans on the chemicals, and the latest evidence is that ozone depletion has slowed or stopped. The United Nations General Assembly has designated September 16 as the International Day for the Preservation of the Ozone Layer.

Comparing a monthly analysis of data for each pair of months

• Comparison of Ozone indices from between January and February

• Comparison of Ozone indices from between January and March

• Comparison of Ozone indices from between March and April

Boxplot demonstrating relationship between ozone indices of two consequetive months

The pink boxes in first two graphs denote the time when the maximum variances in ozone layer density took place. The green and blue boxplots in last two figures denote their subsequent densities of ozone

Jointplot of Year and Annual distribution of ozone indices

This shows how the intensity of ozone layer depletion has risen in past 70-80 years, after industrial revolution and mass production of high heat and chemical emitting machines, increased use of coolant gases like ammonia and Chloro-fluro-carbon(CFC) after the invention and rapid use of air-conditioner and refrigerators in past 2 decades.

Correlation and Heatmap of all data of Ozone indices¶

The heatmap and correlational plotted data signifies how the ozone indices are related to the respective months of a year. Shown in orane boxes, the weather in April to August having a correlational constant less than 0.5 signifies the highest affected season of Ozone layer depletion.

Conclusion

From the above analysis of ozone layer indexing and layer health, we can easily notice that the most harm is caused to the ozone layer during the months of April to August, when the temperature in tropical regions soar up and thus people tend to use more cooling devices in homes, offices and industries. These cooling equipments like air-conditioners(in homes, vehicles and offices), cold-storages, refrigerators cause a huge emission of CFC which harms the ozone layer. The best solution is to plant trees and reduce global warming, (a similar situation is observed in 2020 due to lockdowns and less vehicular emmissions).