Nighttime view over the Gulf Coast Sep 16, 2025

What do invisible gases, vintage hairspray and satellites have in common? They all played a role in one of the greatest environmental comebacks in history. Seen from 362 kilometres above, the Gulf Coast glows like a constellation—clusters of light scattered across the dark. But what truly makes this view possible can"t be seen: the ozone layer, silently shielding everything below from the sun"s ultraviolet rays. By the 1980s, that shield was thinning fast—damaged by chemicals once used in refrigeration and aerosol products. The solution? A global pact. The Montreal Protocol, signed in 1987, led to a swift phase-out of ozone-depleting substances. Today, satellites show that the hole over Antarctica is shrinking. Scientists believe it could be fully healed by mid-century.

© Stocktrek Images/Getty Images

palette

Today in History

Sep 16, 2023Splügen Pass, Switzerland
Sep 16, 2024Wallabies at sunrise, Australia

More Desktop Wallpapers:

Aug 15, 2025Spotted eagle rays
Nov 2, 2024American bison in Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, USA
Jun 18, 2025Asian swallowtail butterfly
Jan 16, 2025Pinnacles National Park, California, United States
May 1, 2025Plumeria flowers, Hawaii, United States
Feb 4, 2025Golden Bridge, Bà Nà Hills, Da Nang, Vietnam
Oct 10, 2023Mount Sopris, Colorado, USA
Aug 7, 2024St. Joseph North Pier Inner and Outer Lights, Michigan, USA
Jul 15, 2024Tateishi Park, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan
Aug 3, 2025Sunflowers
Apr 9, 2025Naxos, Cyclades, Greece
Oct 16, 2025Eurasian lynx, Siberia
Nov 3, 2023Pacific sea nettle jellyfish
Apr 21, 2025Joshua trees under the Milky Way, California, United States
Oct 29, 2023Bonaventure Cemetery, Savannah, Georgia, USA
Jun 23, 2025Elbe river in Dresden, Saxony, Germany
Nov 27, 2025Eastbourne Pier, England
Dec 7, 2023Verdon Gorge, Alpes-de-Haute-Provence, France
Dec 26, 2023Dedham, Colchester, England
Dec 12, 2024Poinsettia flower
Oct 20, 2024Three-toed sloth in Costa Rica
Mar 24, 2025African elephants in Namibia
Jul 4, 2025Orosei, Sardinia, Italy
Jun 28, 2025Mannheim Water Tower, Germany
May 12, 2024Guanaco mother and baby
Sep 8, 2023The Circus, Bath, Somerset, England
Apr 2, 2025Sandstone formations in the badlands near Caineville, Utah, United States
Nov 4, 2024Grasmere, Lake District, Cumbria, England
Nov 12, 2024Arches National Park, Utah, United States
Mar 6, 2024Wahclella Falls, Oregon, USA