Protect Ozone for safe and healthy life

Kapurthala, September 16, 2021: Pushpa Gujral Science City celebrated World Ozone Day by organizing a webinar on Good Ozone vs Bad Ozone. Around 150 school students from all over Punjab participated through virtual mode. Dr. Umesh Chandera Kulshrestha, Professor and Dean, School of Environmental Science, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi was the key speaker at this occasion.  He delivered a special talk on Good Ozone and Vs Bad Ozone. During his talk he informed that Ozone occurs in two layers of the atmosphere. The layer closest to the Earth’s surface is the troposphere. Here, ground- level or “bad” ozone is an air pollutant that is harmful to breathe and it damages crops, trees and other vegetation. The stratosphere or “good” ozone layer extends upward from about 6 to 30 miles and protects life on Earth from the sun’s harmful ultraviolet (UV) rays. Further, ozone hole which is referred to depletion of good ozone below 220 Dobson Units in the Antarctic region is now healing which means the destruction of ozone via man-made emissions of chlorine and bromine is reduced on account of replacement of chlorofluorocarbons with hydro fluorocarbons (HFCs) in a phased manner.
Dr. Neelima Jerath, Director General Science City in her introductory remarks said that World Ozone Day is celebrated on September 16 every year. The theme of this year celebration is "Montreal Protocol - Keeping us, our food and vaccines cool". Around one third of all food produced globally for human consumption is either lost or wasted each year, largely due to a lack of access to cold chains. Food loss globally leads to wasting of precious resources such as land, water and energy as well as, generation of greenhouse gases. By developing cold chain solutions that are more efficient, more climate friendly and cheaper to operate will provide producers such as farmers and pharmaceutical providers with access to pre-cooling, refrigerated storage and refrigerated transport – ensuring products such as food and vaccines reach people in safe and good condition. Further, Covid-19 pandemic has brought social and economic hardship, the ozone treaties message of working together in harmony with nature and for the collective good is more important than ever, she added.
Dr. Rajesh Grover, Director, Science City delivering vote of thanks at the occasion emphasized upon usage of renewable sources of energy, plantation of more and more trees and use public transport to protect ozone layer. Further, public awareness programs in this context assume a significant place as there is no second opinion that public awareness on all aspects can give wonderful results.