The ozone layer is a belt of naturally occurring ozone gas in the stratosphere. It absorbs the harmful ultraviolet radiations emitted from the sun before it reaches the Earth’s atmosphere. Ozone depleting substances (ODS) like CFCs and other organic substances that are used in appliances are responsible for the depletion and thinning of ozone layer.
The Montreal Protocol is an international treaty signed to protect the ozone layer where the parties agreed to phase out production of ODSs. It has proved to be one of the most successful international treaties as the ozone layer is slowly reviving and the ozone hole over Antarctica is also healing.
The occurrence of ozone
Ozone is present in a very small amount in the Earth’s atmosphere, averaging about three molecules of ozone for every ten million molecules of air. It is measured in Dobson Unit (Db) which is equivalent to a 0.01 mm thickness of pure ozone if brought down to ground level pressure (1 atm) and temperature (0°C). The global average of ozone thickness is about 300Db.
Most of the ozone, around 90 per cent, resides in the upper layer of atmosphere called the stratosphere, which is 10 km above the Earth’s surface. It forms a blanket like structure around the Earth’s atmosphere called the ‘ozone layer’. The remaining 10 per cent is present in the lower region of the atmosphere, commonly known as the troposphere. The ozone layer filters out the harmful ultraviolet (UV) radiations from the sun before reaching the Earth by absorbing them. Thus, it is also known as the ‘Earth’s natural sunscreen’.
The role of ozone in the two regions of the atmosphere is different. The stratospheric ozone is called as the ‘good ozone’ due to its role in shielding the biologically damaging ultraviolet sunlight (called UV-B). Whereas, tropospheric ozone is known as ‘bad ozone’ because of its highly reactive nature with other gas molecules and it is toxic for living systems. Surface ozone is also a key component in formation of photochemical smog which is a potential air pollutant. Therefore, ozone basically has two environmental issues – the increasing concentration of ozone in the troposphere and the depletion of ozone layer in the stratosphere due to the release of several ozone-depleting substances (ODS).
Depletion of Ozone layer
The ozone molecules in the stratosphere are constantly formed and destroyed during any given time. Thus, the concentration of ozone is supposed to remain relatively stable unless the chemistry is drastically disturbed by external factors. In the beginning of the 1970s, the scientific community discovered that the ozone layer has been depleting more quickly than it is naturally formed. It was due to the human produced ozone-depleting organic compounds generally identified as halocarbons. They are combinations of elements like chlorine, bromine, fluorine, oxygen and hydrogen. Collectively they are known as Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) and Hydroclorofluorocarbons (HCFCs). Other ozone depleting substances are carbon tetrachloride, methyl chloroform and methyl bromide. These substances are non-reactive, non-flammable and non-toxic and can travel for a long distance reaching up to the stratosphere in a few years.
In the presence of UV light they produce free chlorine, fluorine and bromine which when in contact with ozone break down their molecules. It is estimated that, one chlorine molecule can destroy 100,000 ozone molecules before it is removed from the stratosphere (Environmental Protection Agency, US, 2016). ODSs are used in our day today appliances like refrigerators, air conditioners, fire extinguishers, foam insulators etc. The use of these substances is banned legally in most of the countries but illegal use is still widespread.
Finding a replacement for CFCs became inevitable and with effort the global scientific community found substances which are less harmful than CFCs. Hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs) are one of the temporary replacements for CFCs, while Hydroflourocarbons (HFCs) are the main long term replacements for CFCs and HCFCs. Since chlorine has the highest potential to destroy ozone, products that are entirely free of chlorine will be the ultimate replacements for CFCs and HCFCs.
The growing awareness of the serious impacts of ODSs in the ozone layer led to the groundbreaking Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer which was signed in 1987. It was the first joint international effort to protect the stratospheric ozone. The parties under the Protocol decided to phase out CFCs and halon productions. The measures taken up under this agreement was met with positive results as ODSs are falling and the ozone layer is expected to be fully healed near the middle of the 21st century (USEPA, 2017).
Fig: Surface and stratospheric ozone
Biological impacts of ozone depletion
Most of the biological impacts of ozone layer depletion are due to the damaging nature of UV-B radiations. The reduction of ozone concentration in the stratosphere allows more UV-B radiations to penetrate into the Earth’s atmosphere. Research says that 1 per cent decrease in ozone overhead can result in a 2 per cent increase in UV-B intensity at ground level (Baird and Cann, 2008). The DNA molecules of a living body absorb the UV radiation and can cause several genetic aberrations. It can be linked to several human conditions like skin cancers, cataracts, macular degeneration (gradual death of retinal cells) etc. Malignant melanoma is a widespread skin cancer caused by over-exposure to UV-B radiations. The impacts of UV-B radiation is confined not only to humans but plants as well. The efficiency of plant photosynthesis is reduced leading to less leaves, fruits and seeds. It also affects the production of microscopic phytoplankton which is an important base in the marine food chain.
The tropospheric ozone also has multiple effects on food production, forest growth and human health. It aggravates various respiratory diseases like asthma and emphysema, and is also linked to permanent lung damage. In plants, ozone induces early senescence and abscission of leaves, it also reduces the rate of photosynthetic carbon fixation and thereby a decrease in fruit and seed production (Wilkinson et al., 2012).
Healing of ozone hole in Antarctica
The ozone hole in Antarctica is not an actual hole but an area of exceptionally thin layer of ozone at the stratosphere that happens during the Southern Hemisphere Spring (August-October). This is due to the formation of Polar Stratospheric Clouds (PSC) particles during the winter. The inactive form of chlorine is converted into active form (Chlorine gas) in the presence of water and ice. Thus when spring comes, sunlight breaks the bond between two chlorine atoms which are in active form and undergoes a series of catalytic ozone destructions. The ozone hole grows throughout spring until the cold polar vortex vanishes and stabilizes the ozone layer. This cycle repeats each year during the spring.
On the bright side, research and monitoring have shown that the ozone hole over Antarctica has started to heal. It was reported in 2015 that the hole was around 14 million sq km smaller than it was in the year 2000, an area roughly the size of India (Solomon et al. 2016). This milestone has been credited to the international joint efforts in phasing out of ozone depleting substances. Meanwhile, researchers say that even though production of ODSs has been phased out in many countries, there is still plenty of chlorine left in the atmosphere. It is expected that complete recovery of ozone depletion would happen by around 2050-60 owing to the long lifetime and slow decay of chlorine.
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- In the Large States category (overall), Chhattisgarh ranks 1st, followed by Odisha and Telangana, whereas, towards the bottom are Maharashtra at 16th, Assam at 17th and Gujarat at 18th. Gujarat is one State that has seen startling performance ranking 5th in the PAI 2021 Index outperforming traditionally good performing States like Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka, but ranks last in terms of Delta
- In the Small States category (overall), Nagaland tops, followed by Mizoram and Tripura. Towards the tail end of the overall Delta ranking is Uttarakhand (9th), Arunachal Pradesh (10th) and Meghalaya (11th). Nagaland despite being a poor performer in the PAI 2021 Index has come out to be the top performer in Delta, similarly, Mizoram’s performance in Delta is also reflected in it’s ranking in the PAI 2021 Index
- In terms of Equity, in the Large States category, Chhattisgarh has the best Delta rate on Equity indicators, this is also reflected in the performance of Chhattisgarh in the Equity Pillar where it ranks 4th. Following Chhattisgarh is Odisha ranking 2nd in Delta-Equity ranking, but ranks 17th in the Equity Pillar of PAI 2021. Telangana ranks 3rd in Delta-Equity ranking even though it is not a top performer in this Pillar in the overall PAI 2021 Index. Jharkhand (16th), Uttar Pradesh (17th) and Assam (18th) rank at the bottom with Uttar Pradesh’s performance in line with the PAI 2021 Index
- Odisha and Nagaland have shown the best year-on-year improvement under 12 Key Development indicators.
- In the 60:40 division States, the top three performers are Kerala, Goa and Tamil Nadu and, the bottom three performers are Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand and Bihar.
- In the 90:10 division States, the top three performers were Himachal Pradesh, Sikkim and Mizoram; and, the bottom three performers are Manipur, Assam and Meghalaya.
- Among the 60:40 division States, Orissa, Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh are the top three performers and Tamil Nadu, Telangana and Delhi appear as the bottom three performers.
- Among the 90:10 division States, the top three performers are Manipur, Arunachal Pradesh and Nagaland; and, the bottom three performers are Jammu and Kashmir, Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh
- Among the 60:40 division States, Goa, West Bengal and Delhi appear as the top three performers and Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Bihar appear as the bottom three performers.
- Among the 90:10 division States, Mizoram, Himachal Pradesh and Tripura were the top three performers and Jammu & Kashmir, Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh were the bottom three performers
- West Bengal, Bihar and Tamil Nadu were the top three States amongst the 60:40 division States; while Haryana, Punjab and Rajasthan appeared as the bottom three performers
- In the case of 90:10 division States, Mizoram, Assam and Tripura were the top three performers and Nagaland, Jammu & Kashmir and Uttarakhand featured as the bottom three
- Among the 60:40 division States, the top three performers are Kerala, Andhra Pradesh and Orissa and the bottom three performers are Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand and Goa
- In the 90:10 division States, the top three performers are Mizoram, Sikkim and Nagaland and the bottom three performers are Manipur and Assam
In a diverse country like India, where each State is socially, culturally, economically, and politically distinct, measuring Governance becomes increasingly tricky. The Public Affairs Index (PAI 2021) is a scientifically rigorous, data-based framework that measures the quality of governance at the Sub-national level and ranks the States and Union Territories (UTs) of India on a Composite Index (CI).
States are classified into two categories – Large and Small – using population as the criteria.
In PAI 2021, PAC defined three significant pillars that embody Governance – Growth, Equity, and Sustainability. Each of the three Pillars is circumscribed by five governance praxis Themes.
The themes include – Voice and Accountability, Government Effectiveness, Rule of Law, Regulatory Quality and Control of Corruption.
At the bottom of the pyramid, 43 component indicators are mapped to 14 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) that are relevant to the States and UTs.
This forms the foundation of the conceptual framework of PAI 2021. The choice of the 43 indicators that go into the calculation of the CI were dictated by the objective of uncovering the complexity and multidimensional character of development governance
The Equity Principle
The Equity Pillar of the PAI 2021 Index analyses the inclusiveness impact at the Sub-national level in the country; inclusiveness in terms of the welfare of a society that depends primarily on establishing that all people feel that they have a say in the governance and are not excluded from the mainstream policy framework.
This requires all individuals and communities, but particularly the most vulnerable, to have an opportunity to improve or maintain their wellbeing. This chapter of PAI 2021 reflects the performance of States and UTs during the pandemic and questions the governance infrastructure in the country, analysing the effectiveness of schemes and the general livelihood of the people in terms of Equity.
Growth and its Discontents
Growth in its multidimensional form encompasses the essence of access to and the availability and optimal utilisation of resources. By resources, PAI 2021 refer to human resources, infrastructure and the budgetary allocations. Capacity building of an economy cannot take place if all the key players of growth do not drive development. The multiplier effects of better health care, improved educational outcomes, increased capital accumulation and lower unemployment levels contribute magnificently in the growth and development of the States.
The Pursuit Of Sustainability
The Sustainability Pillar analyses the access to and usage of resources that has an impact on environment, economy and humankind. The Pillar subsumes two themes and uses seven indicators to measure the effectiveness of government efforts with regards to Sustainability.
The Curious Case Of The Delta
The Delta Analysis presents the results on the State performance on year-on-year improvement. The rankings are measured as the Delta value over the last five to 10 years of data available for 12 Key Development Indicators (KDI). In PAI 2021, 12 indicators across the three Pillars of Equity (five indicators), Growth (five indicators) and Sustainability (two indicators). These KDIs are the outcome indicators crucial to assess Human Development. The Performance in the Delta Analysis is then compared to the Overall PAI 2021 Index.
Key Findings:-
In the Scheme of Things
The Scheme Analysis adds an additional dimension to ranking of the States on their governance. It attempts to complement the Governance Model by trying to understand the developmental activities undertaken by State Governments in the form of schemes. It also tries to understand whether better performance of States in schemes reflect in better governance.
The Centrally Sponsored schemes that were analysed are National Health Mission (NHM), Umbrella Integrated Child Development Services scheme (ICDS), Mahatma Gandh National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS), Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan (SmSA) and MidDay Meal Scheme (MDMS).
National Health Mission (NHM)
INTEGRATED CHILD DEVELOPMENT SERVICES (ICDS)
MID- DAY MEAL SCHEME (MDMS)
SAMAGRA SHIKSHA ABHIYAN (SMSA)
MAHATMA GANDHI NATIONAL RURAL EMPLOYMENT GUARANTEE SCHEME (MGNREGS)