Sun Safety
- Understanding UV Radiation and the UV Index
|
Environment Canada's Interpretation of the UV Index
Find out what the current UV index forecast is in your area.
The ozone layer is a thin layer of gases that surrounds the earth. It acts as a sunscreen for the earth, blocking out most of the sun’s damaging radiation. Over the last few years, the ozone layer has become slightly thinner, allowing more damaging UV rays to reach the earth’s surface than before.
The Sun’s UV rays can cause:
- More wrinkles
- Sagging skin
- Age or liver spots
- Tan/sunburn
- Eye damage/ cataracts
- Skin Cancer
Know Your UV – A,B,C’s:
The sun emits different kinds of light:
- the visible light you see,
- the infrared light you feel as heat,
- and invisible ultraviolet (UV) radiation.
It is the UV radiation part of light which affects our skin the most. It is important to know about the sun’s UV rays in order to know how to protect your skin and prevent skin cancer.
There are 3 types of UV rays:
UVA: A stands for Aging.
UVA radiation penetrates deep into the skin and is responsible for premature aging of the skin and skin cancer. Tanning beds can emit 2 to 5 times more UVA radiation than the sun.
UVB: B stands for Burning.
UVB radiation is stronger than UVA radiation. It mainly affects the outer layers of the skin, causing sunburns, premature aging of the skin, and skin cancer. These rays are strongest during the summer months – especially between 11 am and 4 pm.
UVC: UVC radiation is the strongest, most dangerous form of UV light. However, they are stopped by the earth’s atmosphere and do not reach earth’s surface.
The UV Index UV Index chart developed by Environment Canada |
