I wish I caught this announcement earlier… I wasn’t prepared when I woke up this morning to celebrate International Ozone Day!

This year marks the 30th anniversary of the Vienna Convention for the Protection of the Ozone Layer, an important milestone in the protection of the ozone layer. The theme for the celebration of the anniversary and this year’s International Day for the Preservation of the Ozone Layer to be marked on 16 September is, “30 years of healing the ozone together.” The theme is supported by the slogan, “Ozone: All there is between you and UV.”

The International Ozone Day is an annual event that commemorates the date of the signing, in 1987, of the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer. In the last three decades, the Vienna Convention and its Montreal Protocol have galvanized 197 nations to work together on phasing out ozone-depleting substances, thus protecting the ozone layer for this and future generations and contributing significantly to global efforts to address climate change.  —  From UNEP Ozone Secretariat

The website (http://ozone.unep.org/en/precious-ozone) has excellent information that is educational and informative about ozone and the ozone layer.  There are also messages from the UNEP Executive Director and UN Secretary General about Ozone Day 2015. Below is a video about ozone included on their website that supplements an interactive ozone map and 3D ozone map.

Finally, for those looking for a catchy tune about ozone… there happens to be an Ozone Song! I think it might be the first time someone has tried to rhyme “Montreal Protocol” with “ozone hole.” Enjoy!  (more importantly, take a moment to share with your students information about ozone, why this celebration exists, and what it means)