World Ozone Day Celebrations at Forest Research Institute

Forest Research Institute (Deemed to be University), Publicity and Liaison Office and ENVIS Resource Center of FRI Dehradun virtually celebrated World Ozone Day 2021. Shri Arun Singh Rawat, Director General, ICFRE and Chief Guest during his opening remarks emphasized about the importance of the ozone layer and its role in protecting the Earth from the harmful portion of the rays of the sun, thus helping preserve life on the planet. He also described that the United Nations General Assembly, in 1994, declared 16^th September as the International Day for the Preservation of the Ozone Layer/ World Ozone Day. This day marks the signing of the Montreal Protocol on Substances that deplete the Ozone Layer in 1987. This year, the theme of World Ozone Day is ‘Montreal Protocol – keeping us, our food and vaccines cool‘.

To commemorate this significant day, a special lecture was delivered by Prof. Pradhan Parth Sarthi, Department of Environmental Science, Central University of South Bihar, Gaya, Bihar on ‘Current situation of the ozone layer and the need to preserve it’. He summarized the structure of the ozone layer and the variation in the ozone across different months of the year. He elaborated the importance of the ozone layer with his presentation and rendered a basic understanding of the significance of preserving it for future generations. Prof Parth Sarthi also presented a case study of ozone concentration in Bihar, which his research group conducted.