Many people have asked me whether global warming and the ozone hole are related. The short answer is "no". The long answer starts with "tangentially". Here’s the scoop.<\/p>\n
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The ozone layer, found in the lower part of the stratosphere 9 to 20 miles up, prevents harmful ultraviolet radiation from reaching the Earth’s surface. The depletion of the ozone (which is now recovering) was due to man-made chemicals like chlorofluorocarbons.<\/p>\n
Global warming, in contrast, is what happens when high concentrations of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide (CO2<\/sub>) trap heat in the Earth’s atmosphere. The increase in CO2<\/sub> concentration is mainly due to the burning of fossil fuels and deforestation.<\/p>\n So they are separate problems, but there is one way they do interact. Greenhouse gases raise the temperature in the lower atmosphere, but decrease it in the upper atmosphere or stratosphere, where the ozone layer is.<\/p>\n