Monsoons launch surprising amounts of ozone-depleting substances into lower atmosphere

Monsoon winds are carrying unexpectedly significant quantities of ozone-depleting substances high into the atmosphere over east Asia, with the east Asian monsoon delivering more than twice the concentration of very short-lived ozone-depleting substances known as organic chlorine compounds into the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere than previously reported. That is according to new research led by the US National Science Foundation and Nasa and co-authored by a large team of international scientists.

This particular class of chemicals can destroy ozone but persists for only a relatively short time – months to years – in the atmosphere, in contrast to ozone-depleting chlorofluorocarbons that persist for centuries.