Australia has some of the highest levels of UV radiation in the world – in fact, UV radiation is strong enough to cause sunburn in as little as 11 minutes on a fine summer day.
Dr Ahmad Hasanien, a skin cancer expert explained that 'During summer, the Earth's orbit brings Australia closer to the sun, resulting in an additional 7% solar UV intensity. Coupled with our clearer atmospheric conditions, this means that Australians are exposed to up to 15% more UV than Europeans'.
Ultraviolet (UV) radiation in Australia is so intense that on a sunny day, a fair-skinned person can get a sunburn in less than fifteen minutes. Australia's unusually harsh sunshine results mainly from its location in the Southern Hemisphere.
The maximum UVI of 25 is for the grid cell at 13.5° S, 172° W, centred on Cuzco in Peru. The city is at 3360 m a.s.l., with surrounding terrain extending to over 6000 m a.s.l. As the capital of the Inca empire, Cuzco seems to be well sited for sun worship.
Sunburn in Australia
A January 2019 nationally representative survey of Australian adults found approximately one in five adults (21%) were sunburnt on the previous summer weekend when they were outdoors.
During summer, the Earth's orbit brings Australia closer to the sun (as compared to Europe during its summer), resulting in an additional 7% solar UV intensity. Coupled with our clearer atmospheric conditions, this means that Australians are exposed to up to 15% more UV than Europeans.
Australia has some of the highest levels of UV radiation in the world – in fact, UV radiation is strong enough to cause sunburn in as little as 11 minutes on a fine summer day. UV radiation from the sun is also one of the best natural sources for vitamin D so a balance is important.
Australia gets more ultraviolet light from sunlight than many other places do. Melanin in cells absorbs ultraviolet light and prevents it from being absorbed by other parts of the cell which can be damaged.
UV rays are strongest in areas close to the equator. Because the sun is directly over the equator, UV rays only travel a short distance through the atmosphere to reach these areas.
New Zealand's rather cool and temperate temperatures can easily hide the harmful effects of the sun. Yet in any season and any weather, the New Zealand sun can burn. Many people say they get more sunburned in New Zealand than anywhere else in the world, even Australia!
Many people have observed that people 'tan faster' in the Southern Hemisphere, compared to equivalent latitudes in Europe. Some Australians even say the sun is 'less bright' on a European beach.
Sunscreen should be incorporated into your daily morning routine on these days. UV radiation levels in northern areas of Australia are generally higher than in southern areas, so in some parts of the country, sun protection is needed all year round, whenever the UV Index is 3 or higher.
For those living in southern states of Australia, the Cancer Council recommends two to three hours of sun exposure per week at this time of year. Most people can achieve adequate levels by being outdoors with typical day-to-day activities – outside of peak UV periods, that is.
No one is immune to sunburn. Understanding your risk and taking the appropriate preventive strategies from sunburn can help prevent future skin problems.
The lowest values occur in June-July where the UV Index averages less than 2 over Tasmania, increasing to almost 8-9 in far northern Australia.
In contrast, the safest countries are found in Scandinavia, with Finland boasting the lowest average (2.17) and Sweden (2.25), Norway (2.25) and Denmark (2.67) not far behind.
At higher latitudes the sun is lower in the sky, so UV rays must travel a greater distance through ozone-rich portions of the atmosphere and in turn expose those latitudes to less UV radiation. UV intensity increases with altitude because there is less atmosphere to absorb the damaging rays.
You hear people say it often - "Aussie sun is different from Europe's." However, the sun itself always has the same strength, regardless of the continent.
It's well known that a tanned look seems healthy and attractive to many Australians. Recent research shows Australians who feel particularly self-conscious about their body are more likely to intentionally tan to increase their sense of attractiveness.
Basically, through migration, our two countries have been populated by many people with fair skin whose ancestors come from much less sunny climates. Lack of protective pigmentation leaves skin cells especially vulnerable to the DNA-damaging rays from the sun.
The most lightly pigmented (European, Chinese and Mexican) skin types have approximately half as much epidermal melanin as the most darkly pigmented (African and Indian) skin types.
Australia's climate is governed mostly by its size and by the hot, sinking air of the subtropical high pressure belt (subtropical ridge or Australian High).
The stratospheric ozone layer absorbs the biologically damaging wavelengths of ultraviolet (UV) rays but in the 1970s, Australia's ozone layer was severely thinned as a consequence of heavy use of ozone-depleting, substances such as chloroflurocarbons (CFCs) and hydro-chloroflurocarbons (HCFCs).
UV problem of another kind
"Tasmania is unique with the fact that in summer it gets to extreme level, and in winter it doesn't even get to moderate," Mr Carr said.