The Earth's protective ozone layer is well on track to recovery in the next few decades thanks to concerted international action against ozone depleting substances, according to a new assessment by 300 scientists. The Assessment for Decision-Makers, a summary document of the Scientific Assessment of Ozone Depletion 2014, is being published by the UNEP and the WMO, and is the first comprehensive update in four years. The stratospheric ozone layer, a fragile shield of gas, protects the Earth from harmful ultraviolet rays of the sun. Without the Montreal Protocol and associated agreements, atmospheric levels of ozone depleting substances could have increased tenfold by 2050. According to global models, the Protocol will have prevented 2 million cases of skin cancer annually by 2030, averted damage to human eyes and immune systems, and protected wildlife and agriculture, according to UNEP.

The amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere reached a new record high in 2013, propelled by a surge in levels of carbon dioxide.

COIMBATORE: Bharathi Park Road, named after the famous Bharathi Park built in 1934, and flanked by the forest college on one side, is known for its greenery and calm atmosphere.

Climate variability in the Norwegian Sea was investigated in terms of ocean heat and fresh water contents of Atlantic water above a reference surface, using hydrographic data during spring 1951–2010. The main processes acting on this variability were examined and then quantified. The area-averaged water mass cooled and freshened, but a deepening of the reference surface resulted in a positive trend in the heat content of 0.3 W m−2. Air-sea heat fluxes explained about half of the interannual variability in heat content.

Kashmir Economic Alliance (KEA) said news about the Yusmarg as an alternate ‘firing range’ to Tosamaidan has once again become an issue of controversy.

Global wind speeds have decreased 5–15% over the last 30 years and are expected to continue decreasing in the future. However, little is known about how wind affects species and their interactions within communities. The researcher experimentally tested the effects of wind on predator–prey interactions using soybean aphids and predatory multicolored Asian ladybeetles.

Factors involved in the recent pause in the rise of global mean temperatures are examined seasonally. For 1999 to 2012, the hiatus in surface warming is mainly evident in the central and eastern Pacific. It is manifested as strong anomalous easterly trade winds, distinctive sea-level pressure patterns, and large rainfall anomalies in the Pacific, which resemble the Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO). These features are accompanied by upper tropospheric teleconnection wave patterns that extend throughout the Pacific, to polar regions, and into the Atlantic.

Issuing strict instructions to maintain the dignity of the National Flag in the Punjab Government has banned the use of plastic flags.

The odds of an El Nino forming in the equatorial Pacific have fallen to about 65 percent through the end of the year, the U.S. Climate Prediction Center said.

Over the course of six years (2006–2011), equivalent black carbon (eqBC), coarse aerosol mass (PM 1–10), and surface ozone (O 3), observed during the monsoon onset period at the Nepal Climate Observatory–Pyramid WMO/GAW Global Station (NCO-P, 5079 m a.s.l.), were analyzed to investigate events characterized by a significant increase in these short-lived climate forcers/pollutants (SLCF/P).

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