Nighttime view over the Gulf Coast Sep 16, 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 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:

Mar 12, 2025Château de Sully-sur-Loire, Centre-Val de Loire, France
Mar 5, 2024Bangkok, Thailand
Feb 21, 2024Horsetail Fall, Yosemite National Park, California, USA
Apr 8, 2025Piazza Maggiore, Bologna, Italy
Jul 13, 2025Basalt columns in Kálfshamarsvík cove, Skagi peninsula, Iceland
Oct 1, 2024Yosemite National Park, California, USA
Jan 26, 2025European beech forest, Belgium
Apr 19, 2025Zion National Park, Utah, United States
Oct 5, 2025Boreal owl
Dec 12, 2023Poinsettias
Jan 25, 2024Ynys Llanddwyn, Wales, United Kingdom
Jul 22, 2025Badlands National Park, South Dakota, United States
May 29, 2025Miravet, Catalonia, Spain
Apr 14, 2024Bowling Ball Beach, California, USA
Oct 6, 2024Coyote Gulch, Glen Canyon Recreation Area, Utah
Sep 4, 2023Marshes of Bourges, France
Aug 23, 2025Greater flamingos, Camargue Regional Nature Park, France
Jul 29, 2025Bengal tiger, India
Sep 26, 2024Blue-throated toucanet, Costa Rica
Feb 23, 2025Mount Fuji, Lake Kawaguchi, Japan
Feb 26, 2025Castle Stalker, Argyll, Scotland
May 17, 2024African elephants, Tanzania
Mar 15, 2025The Temple of Saturn, Rome, Italy
Sep 21, 2023Inside the Nobel Peace Centre, Oslo, Norway
Sep 27, 2025Tank Lakes, Alpine Lakes Wilderness, Washington, United States
Aug 19, 2024Bufadero de la Garita, Gran Canaria, Spain
Nov 6, 2023Lago Pehoé, Torres del Paine National Park, Chile
Oct 23, 2023Corn maze in Saylorsburg, Pennsylvania, USA
Jun 28, 2025Mannheim Water Tower, Germany
May 13, 2025Torres del Paine National Park, Patagonia, Chile