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Battle to save ozone layer rages on

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By Anesu Chakanetsa

ZIMBABWE joined the world in celebrating the International Day for the Preservation of the Ozone Layer amid calls to intensify efforts to save the ozone critical to continued sustenance of life on the planet.
World Ozone Day is officially commemorated on September 16.
Coincidentally, September is the month the country battles with veld fires and high temperatures.
Commemorations this year were held under the theme ‘Ozone and Climate: Restored by a World United’ under the slogan ‘Working towards reducing global warming hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) under the Montreal Protocol’.
After massive industrialisation by Western countries which led to high emissions of chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) which are detrimental to the ozone layer, nations saw the need to protect the earth from massive heat resulting from depletion of the ozone layer.
On September 16 1987, the Montreal Protocol was signed in Montreal, Canada.
However, the commemorations of the day began in 1994 after it was set aside by the United Nations (UN) General Assembly to reflect and take action against the depletion of the stratospheric ozone layer.
In addition, the November 2015 Dubai Meeting, acted against the use of HFCs, which were used as alternatives to CFCs for refrigeration and air conditioning.
CFCs were both detrimental to the climate and ozone layer, while HFCs were good for the climate, but harmful to the ozone layer.
In Zimbabwe, signs of global warming caused by the depletion of the ozone layer are noticeable, with changes in rainfall patterns.
The rain season used to stretch from early October to the end of March.
In the Eastern Highlands, it used to rain all year round.
The leeward side of the Eastern Highlands, that is the Sabi Valley, Honde Valley and Gonarezhou are slowly turning into desert areas.
There are also high levels of temperature dynamisms, where there are very high temperatures in the mornings and very low temperatures in the evenings; characteristic desert temperatures.
Recently, Nyanga recorded a minimum temperature of zero degrees Celsius and a maximum temperature of 22 degrees Celsius.
It is crucial to note that the highly-industrialised West has contributed much to the depletion of the ozone layer at the expense of naturally fresh aired African countries by emitting a lot of dangerous gases to the stratospheric ozone layer.
The stratosphere is the second layer from the earth’s surface from the troposphere.
It ends 51km after the earth’s surface and ozone layer is abundant here.
The ozone layer plays a larger role in absorbing harmful radiation from the zone.
If there was no ozone in the stratosphere, the world would be burnt with the rays of the sun.
And if the dangerous CFCs and HFCs continue to be released to the stratosphere, the ozone would cease to exist.
It will be the beginning of a blazing era.
However, the Minister of Water and Climate, Oppah Muchinguri-Kashiri, said the ozone layer would be recovered by the middle of this century if nations made a concerted effort to save it.
“As a result of concerted international effort, the ozone layer is expected to recover by the middle of this century,” she said.
“In addition, the Montreal Protocol has significantly contributed to the mitigation of climate change by averting the emission of more than 135 billion tonnes of carbon dioxides’ equivalent into the atmosphere by simply phasing out Ozone Depleting Substances (ODS).
“Reducing HFC’s under the Montreal Protocol can avoid 0,4 degrees celsius of global warming by the end of the century while continuing the protection of the stratospheric ozone layer.”
In Zimbabwe, there have been strict measures to end the use of CFCs and HFCs to support the Montreal Protocol measures against global warming.
The Ministry of Water and Climate has engaged the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (ZIMRA) in training customs officials to detect illegal ODS traders.
“I am happy with the support my Ministry is getting from ZIMRA customs officers in combating illegal ODS trade,” said Minister Muchinguri-Kashiri.
“My Ministry has adopted a policy to increase awareness among schoolchildren on ozone protection issues.”
Recently, many students from Early Childhood Development level to high school scooped prizes for essays and poetry competitions on how to protect the ozone layer.
The Ministry has also introduced strict measures against illegal ODS smugglers.
“A total of 16 refrigerant identifiers have been distributed to all major ports of entry to help in the detection of mislabelled refrigerants,” said Muchinguri-Kashiri.
“On porous border areas, we have received support from a South African well- wisher who donated drones to oversee movement of persons there.”
Since January 2010, ZIMRA customs officers have seized 350 cylinders of contaminated and mislabeled refrigerants.

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