Introduction – Ozone layer is situated at the stratosphere layer of the earth which absorbs the ultra-violet radiations coming from the sun with contains a high concentration of Ozone (O₃) in this layer. Ozone layer contains high concentration of Ozone that mostly present in the lower portion of the stratosphere from about 15 to 35 kilometers above the surface of the Earth. Henri Buisson and Charles Fabry are French physicists that discovered the ozone layer in the year 1913. The ozone layer absorbs about 97 to 99 percent of ultraviolet light that comes from the Sun else it would produce serious diseases including skin cancer in human beings, and also harm the crop plants.

Importance of the ozone layer – The ozone layer present in the atmosphere is extremely important for all the living things because the presence of the ozone layer in it that the atmosphere protects the living beings from harmful radiation. This can be explained as follows –

The ultra-violet radiations emitted by the Sun are extremely harmful to living things including human beings. The ultraviolet radiations are of short wavelength due to which they can penetrate deep into our body. The ultra-violet radiations destroy the organic molecules which are necessary for life and can cause serious diseases such as skin cancer. The ozone layer present in the upper atmosphere absorbs the harmful ultra-violet radiations emitted by the sun and protects the human health. It also protects crop plants from several ill-effects which could be caused by these radiations. If the ozone cover (or ozone layer) of the atmosphere is removed then all the harmful ultra-violet radiations coming from the sun will reach the earth and produce serious diseases such as skin cancer in human beings and other animals. These ultraviolet rays will also damage crop plants.