Fact sheets

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The Ozone layer — what you can do

Sun Protection Tips

• The amount of UV you receive depends on both the strength of the sun's rays (measured by the UV Index) and the amount of time you spend in the sun. Reduce your time in the sun - seek shade, particularly between 11:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. from April to September.
• Cover up, wear a broad-brimmed hat, a shirt with long sleeves and wrap-around sunglasses or ones with side shields.
• Use sunscreen - with a sun protection factor (SPF) of 15 or higher, with both UVA and UVB protection. Apply generously before going outside, and reapply often, especially after swimming or exercise.
• Listen for Environment Canada's UV Index - it's included in your local weather forecast whenever it is forecast to reach 3 (moderate) or more that day.

To protect the ozone layer

• Make sure your refrigerator, freezer and home air conditioner are carefully serviced and disposed of by companies that can recover CFCs.
• If your car was manufactured before 1995, your air-conditioner will likely contain CFCs as the coolant. Automobile air conditioners are notoriously leaky. Have yours checked regularly and consider converting your air-conditioner to a non-CFC coolant.
• If you own a portable fire-extinguisher that contains halons, consider replacing it with an alternative and have the halons disposed of by a licensed technician.
• Get involved in organizations that are concerned about reducing the use of ozone-depleting chemicals.
• Get informed — learn more about the ozone layer

Recovery of the Ozone Layer

Even though we have greatly reduced the amount of ozone-depleting chemicals which are being released into the atmosphere, the ozone layer is not expected to recover for many decades. This is because these chemicals remain in the atmosphere for long periods of time — up to 100 years or more.

If all countries comply with the terms of the Montreal Protocol, we should eventually see improvements in the ozone layer. However, scientists are uncertain how the rising levels of greenhouse gases and other pollutants may affect ozone loss, particularly in the Arctic. Ozone depletion over the earth's poles may well become worse before it gets better.

The UV index — a Canadian success story

On May 27, 1992, Canadians tuned into their morning weather forecast and found something entirely new: Environment Canada's "UV Index". Using a simple numerical scale, Canadian scientists had become the first in the world to develop a system to bring information on the strength of the sun's UV rays directly into Canadian homes on a daily basis.

The UV Index scale gives us another way to understand ozone depletion. UV is a natural part of the sun's rays. Even before human activities began to deplete the ozone layer, natural levels of UV over southern Canada in the summer would typically reach about 8. They can also sometimes reach 9 and even 10.

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