The small ozone layer on top of the stratosphere is crucial for human survival. Why?

Theozone layerrefers to a region of Earth's stratosphere that absorbs most of the Sun'sUV radiation. It contains high concentrations ofozone(O3) relative to other parts of the atmosphere, although it is still very small relative to other gases in the stratosphere. The ozone layer contains less than ten parts per million of ozone, while the average ozone concentration in Earth's atmosphere as a whole is only about 0.3 parts per million. The ozone layer is mainly found in the lower portion of thestratosphere, from approximately 20 to 30 kilometres (12 to 19mi) above Earth, though the thickness varies seasonally and geographically. The ozone layer absorbs 97–99% of theSun's medium-frequencyultraviolet light(from about 200nm to 315nm wavelength), which otherwise would potentially damage exposed life forms near the surface.

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Apoorva Arora

IIT Roorkee

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