Ozone layer is 'healing'

The ozone layer that shields life from cancer-causing solar rays is showing its first sign of recovery after years of dangerous depletion, a UN study said.

Experts said this upturn was largely down to a 1987 ban on man-made gases that damage the fragile high-altitude screen.

The ozone hole that appears over Antarctica has also stopped growing bigger, the report said.

The report is by the World Meteorological Organisation and the UN Environment Programme.

Past studies have suggested the ozone layer has stopped getting worse.

"During the 1990s the ozone hole got bigger from year to year - that development has stopped," said WMO senior scientific officer Geir Braathen. "We think in about 2025 we'll be able to say with certainty that the ozone hole is getting smaller."

The 1987 Montreal Protocol that banned or phased out ozone-depleting chemicals, including chlorofluorocarbons, would prevent 2million cases of skin cancer annually by 2030 according to the UN agency.

The accord would also help avert damage to wildlife, agriculture, human eyes and immune systems, the agency said.

The ozone layer was expected to recover towards its 1980 level by mid-century, or slightly later for Antarctica.