Ultraviolet Radiation
What is ultraviolet radiation?
The sun produces Ultraviolet radiation (UVR) as well as heat and light. UVR can not be seen or felt, but UVR is different from the heat produced by the sun. When your skin is exposed to too much UVR, skin damage occurs. Over exposure to UVR from the sun is the main cause of skin cancer.
Even if exposure does not cause obvious sunburn, UVR causes damage to your skin which accumulates over the years. In New Zealand over 300 people die each year from skin cancer, and many more have skin cancer surgically removed. Skin damage can be prevented by using sun protection when the UVR is high.
UVR is measured by the UV index. Outside temperature is not a good indicator of UVR level. Even when the temperature is cool, the UVR levels can still be very high, so you can not rely on the temperature to indicate whether you need to protect yourself from UVR.
UVR travels through light cloud cover, so even on cloudy days, and days that may have intermittent showers, you may still be at risk. New Zealand UVI levels vary throughout the seasons and throughout the day.
