What invisible barrier protects us from harmful solar radiation?

The ozone layer is a region of Earth's stratosphere that contains a high concentration of ozone (O3) molecules. This layer plays a crucial role in absorbing the majority of the sun's harmful ultraviolet (UV) radiation, particularly UV-B and UV-C rays, which can cause skin cancer, cataracts, and other health issues, as well as having detrimental effects on the environment. By filtering out these harmful rays, the ozone layer acts as a protective shield, safeguarding living organisms on the planet.

While clouds and the atmosphere provide some degree of shielding from solar radiation, they do not specifically target or filter out UV rays like the ozone layer does. The atmosphere itself comprises various gases, but it is the ozone molecules that provide the unique and essential protective quality against UV radiation. Greenhouse gases primarily play a role in regulating Earth's temperature through the greenhouse effect, not in protecting us from solar radiation specifically.