Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • News & Views
  • Published:

Atmospheric chemistry

A fly in the ozone and climate ointment

Nature Geoscience volume 16, pages 278–279 (2023)Cite this article

Subjects

The Montreal Protocol has successfully guided the world’s transition from chlorofluorcarbons that deplete ozone to hydrofluorocarbons that pose no direct threat to the ozone layer. A study suggests that a recent rise in atmospheric chlorofluorcarbons is linked to the inadvertent release of these gases during the production of hydrofluorocarbons.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Buy this article

  • Purchase on Springer Link
  • Instant access to full article PDF
Buy now

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Fig. 1: Ozone and climate impacts of the five CFCs measured by Western et al.2.

References

  1. Executive Summary. Scientific Assessment of Ozone Depletion (WMO, 2022); https://ozone.unep.org/system/files/documents/Scientific-Assessment-of-Ozone-Depletion-2022-Executive-Summary.pdf

  2. Western, L. M. Nat. Geosci. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41561-023-01147-w (2023).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  3. Solomon, S. Rev. Geophys. 26, 131–148 (1988).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  4. Keeble, J. et al. Atmos. Chem. Phys. Discuss. 2020, 1–68 (2020).

    Google Scholar 

  5. Lickley, M., Fletcher, S., Rigby, M. & Solomon, S. Nat. Commun. 12, 2920 (2021).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  6. Velders, G. J. M., Andersen, S. O., Daniel, J. S., Fahey, D. W. & McFarland, M. Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. 104, 4814–4819 (2007).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. Andersen, S. O. et al. Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. 118, e2022668118 (2021).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  8. Liang, Q. et al. Geophys. Res. Lett. 41, 5307–5315 (2014).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  9. Velders, G. J. M. et al. Atmos. Chem. Phys. 22, 6087–6101 (2022).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  10. Rigby, M. et al. Nature 569, 546–550 (2019).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  11. Montzka, S. A. et al. Nature 557, 413–417 (2018).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  12. Montzka, S. A. et al. Nature 590, 428–432 (2021).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  13. Park, S. et al. Nature 590, 433–437 (2021).

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Science, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland, USA

    Ross J. Salawitch

  2. Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland, USA

    Ross J. Salawitch

  3. Earth System Science Interdisciplinary Center, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland, USA

    Ross J. Salawitch

Authors
  1. Ross J. Salawitch
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Ross J. Salawitch.

Ethics declarations

Competing interests

The author declares no competing interests.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Salawitch, R.J. A fly in the ozone and climate ointment. Nat. Geosci. 16, 278–279 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41561-023-01165-8

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41561-023-01165-8

Search

Advanced search

Quick links

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing