No sunburn during springtime: UV-newsletter starts on April

Winter is over and everybody enjoys outdoor activities every free minute they have. However, the power of the sun is easily underestimated right during the first sunny days of the year. So, a barbecue with friends at noontime may not only bring grilled food but also sunburn to your skin.

Sunburn can be avoided when everything is in its place: the party guests under the parasol, body and head sufficiently shielded and sun screen on the skin.

Too much sun makes the skin look old

Paying attention to sun protection and avoiding sunburn does not only reduce the risk of developing skin cancer later on. Excessive exposure to the sun also causes premature skin ageing. Who would like to look like a wrinkled barbecue sausage at the age of 40?

The so-called UV-index shows when sun protection is required. It indicates the power of the sun's ultraviolet radiation. The higher the UV index the stronger the UV radiation and the earlier sunburn will occur.

The UV-prognosis shows the daily UV-index published on the internet by BfS from April until September every Monday, Wednesday and Friday.

UV-Newsletter: simply register

You can order the UV prognosis for the weekend directly to your home: from April, the Federal Office for Radiation Protection offers its UV-newsletter. Subscribers will receive the UV-prognosis for the weekend every Friday until 11 a.m. per email. For registration, everybody can send an Email to uv-prognose-subscribe@mailman.bfs.de

Editorial staff can use the newsletter to complete the weather forecast for the weekend or to make additional hints to the sun protection required for local events.

The UV newsletter started just in time for the first sunny weekend on April 10.

More Information

What is the UV-Index?

The UV-Index identifies the value of UV-radiation in a region at a day. The higher the values, the higher the UV-radiation.

Warning: Snow, water or bright sands reflect UV-radiation. As a result, the radiation exposure may be higher than indicated by the UV-index. In this case, it is particularly important to provide for sun protection.

How to protect myself?

As a rule: the more sensitively you react to sun and the higher the UV-index, the earlier and the more consequently you have to take sun protection measures.

From UV-Index 3 on, UV-protection is required.

• Seek shade during midday hours (from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.)
• Loose-fitting, comfortable clothes provide better protection than sunscreen. Combined with a hat to cover the head and face this is the best protection.
• Sunglasses are not only cool. They provide good protection against UV-radiation, if they bear the label "100 per cent UV-protection" or "UV 400" and are fitting close to the head.
• For all uncovered skin areas, you should liberally and regularly apply sunscreen with a high sun protection factor.

With an UV-Index of 8, which can be reached during midsummer in Germany, spend the midday hours indoors. If you have to be outdoors, seek shade and provide for appropriate protection by clothing, sunglasses and sunscreen.