Nighttime view over the Gulf Coast 16 Sep 2025

Nighttime view over the Gulf Coast

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 225 miles 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

Mists over the Amazon
16 Sep 2023Oktoberfest begins
16 Sep 2024Wallabies, Australia

More Desktop Wallpapers:

19 Aug 2025The Three Musketeers Falls at Iguazú Falls, Argentina
17 Aug 2025International Lighthouse Lightship Weekend
Autumn in Georgia
When ice imitates art
5 Jun 2025World Environment Day
1 Nov 2025Peña Roya beech forest, Moncayo Natural Park, Aragon, Spain
Where the rainbow ends
30 Sep 2025Koala in the Great Otway National Park, Australia
Grand slam tournament
20 Jan 2025Dunes at White Sands National Park, New Mexico, United States
16 Oct 2024Jurassic Coast, Dorset, England
Charming Turenne
2 Mar 2025Megalong Valley, Blue Mountains National Park, NSW, Australia
14 May 2025Porto Flavia, Sulcis-Iglesiente, Sardinia, Italy
20 Jun 2025Maasai giraffe mother with calf in the Serengeti, Tanzania
19 Feb 2024Puerto de la Cruz, Tenerife, Spain
2 Dec 2024Moose, Denali National Park, Alaska, United States
12 Aug 2025World Elephant Day
27 May 2025Mona Vale rockpool, Sydney, Australia
4 Dec 2023International Cheetah Day
History awaits atop the hill
Poetry in suspense
14 Oct 2024Coco Beach, Goa, India
21 Aug 2025Wheatear, Peak District National Park, England
2 Nov 2023Death Valley National Park, California, USA
17 Feb 2025Jorvik Viking Festival
Black sands in a tropical paradise
27 May 2024Hay Festival
City of ice
4 Mar 2024Arenal Volcano, Costa Rica