CIESIN SEDAC icon NASA logo home page icon
Stratospheric Ozone and Human Health Project

WMO LOGO WORLD
METEOROLOGICAL
ORGANIZATION
UNITED NATIONS
ENVIRONMENT
PROGRAMME
UNITED NATIONS ENVIRONMENT PROGRAMME

Report of the Third Meeting of the Ozone Research Managers





EXECUTIVE SUMMARY


        Research programme managers from the Parties to the Vienna Convention met to review current information on the state of the ozone layer and progress on research and monitoring since their second meeting in 1993 and to make necessary recommendations for further research.

They noted that:

*       Statistically significant ozone reductions continue everywhere except in equatorial regions and the intensity and size of the Antarctic ozone hole has reached record levels in the last 3 years.

*       Unprecedented ozone deficiencies have been observed over middle and highlatitudes of the Northern Hemisphere. Such changes are generally consistent with our understanding of ozone depletion processes related to increasing levels of halocarbons and temperature changes. More serious ozone depletion can be expected over the next few decades until stabilisation occurs as a result of actions taken under the Montreal Protocol and its Amendments.

*       There has been considerable progress in our understanding of stratospheric processes since the last report and our ability to simulate and predict ozone change has improved with new three dimensional modelling capabilities now available. However, uncertainties remain over ozone loss at middle and high latitudes, sources and sinks of some ozone depleting substances, notably methyl bromide, and the microphysical and chemical processes, including the role of iodine compounds associated with ozone depletion.

*       There is evidence that not all the observed loss of ozone in the Northern Hemisphere can be attributed to known ozone depleting substances or processes. It is also probable that increasing greenhouse gas concentrations are enhancing ozone depletion by cooling the stratosphere .

*       There has been a marked increase in the number of UV-B monitoring sites. However, there has been only very limited improvement in our understanding and quantification of the effects of increased UV-B radiation, with most of the recommendations that were made in the 1991 UNEP Panel Report on "Environmental Effects" remaining unfulfilled.

The recommendations made include:

*       Maintenance and further development of monitoring and archiving of measurements of stratospheric and tropospheric ozone, including vertical profiles and other trace species and aerosols are essential and the development and implementation of new observational capabilities such as aircraft and satellite-based measurements should be pursued.

*       Increased investigation and quantification of stratospheric and tropospheric processes through routine monitoring and experimental campaigns are necessary to understand current changes and to further develop and implement predictions of stratospheric change both for the short and long term.

*       The interactions between ozone and climate and the impact of aircraft emissions need to receive a high priority in research.

*       It is essential that WMO continue to work towards co-ordinated and compatible UV-B measurements and their archiving.

*       Research on the effects of UV-B, and efforts to monitor such effects, need to be enhanced substantially. It is necessary to establish base line data on biological systems and international co-ordination and co-operation across all areas of impacts as well as to establish the interactions with other environmental factors such as climate change.

*       The WMO and the UNEP should pursue ways to enhance training and baseline monitoring of ozone, UV-B radiation and related research in developing countries. International funding mechanisms, such as the Global Environment Facility, and the Parties to the Convention should also directly support such programmes using appropriate mechanisms.




WMO HOME PAGE WMO
Home Page
TOC UNEP Ozone
Secretariat
HOME Ozone/Health
Home Page