The potency of one of the major ozone-destroying gases could double because of future climate change.

Nitrous oxide (N2O) leads to ozone destruction through various chemical reactions in the stratosphere, and is the main ozone-destroying gas released by human activity. Laura Revell at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich and her colleagues analysed the ozone-depletion potential of this gas using different scenarios of future climate change. The models showed that ozone destruction involving N2O is made less efficient by the higher concentrations of carbon dioxide and methane that are expected in the atmosphere by 2100. However, the team found that other changes in atmospheric chemistry, temperature and air circulation by 2100 could still increase the ozone depletion potential of N2O by as much as two-fold relative to 2000.

Geophys. Res. Lett. http://doi.org/9h2 (2015)