Australia's unusually harsh sunshine results mainly from its location in the Southern Hemisphere. The elliptical orbit of the Earth places the Southern Hemisphere closer to the sun during its summer months than the Northern Hemisphere during its summer.
As our senses cannot detect UV, overexposure may be damaging our skin and eyes without our knowledge. Australia experiences some of the highest levels of UV radiation in the world because we are close to the equator and have many clear, blue-sky days.
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.
Skin cancers (including both melanomas and non-melanomas) result from skin damage by ultraviolet radiation (UVR), which accounts for at least 95% of all skin cancers in Australia. Australia experiences high levels of UVR, resulting from the reduction in their ozone layer since the 1970s.
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's unusually harsh sunshine results mainly from its location in the Southern Hemisphere. The elliptical orbit of the Earth places the Southern Hemisphere closer to the sun during its summer months than the Northern Hemisphere during its summer.
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!
Massive wildfires that raged across southeast Australia in 2019–20 unleashed chemicals that chewed through the ozone layer, expanding and prolonging the ozone hole.
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.
As the ozone hole over the south pole breaks up in spring, pockets of ozone depleted air drift across Tasmania, southern Victoria and the southern part of New Zealand's south island.
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.
The earth is rotating at a tilted axis relative to the sun, and during the summer months, the North Pole is angled towards our star. That's why, for several weeks, the sun never sets above the Arctic Circle. Svalbard is the place in Norway where the midnight sun occurs for the longest period.
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.
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). This moves north-west and north-east with the seasons.
Solariums and tanning
Today it is illegal to operate a commercial solarium anywhere in Australia. There is no such thing as a safe tan – whether from the sun or a solarium.
Australia is not far from the equator. It's at the latitude where high pressure areas predominate, and that means it will often have clear skies. As a consequence, radiation from the Sun is not blocked by day making for very warm days.
Australians are more exposed to higher solar UV radiation levels that accelerate signs of facial ageing than individuals who live in temperate northern countries. The severity and course of self‐reported facial ageing among fair‐skinned Australian women were compared with those living in Canada, the UK and the USA.
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.
The hole still exists but scientists project the ozone layer to return to a condition not seen since before 1980 by about 2050. The overall recovery of the ozone hole is a "slow process", but Krummel said humans are headed in the right direction for the issue "not to be much of a problem at all".
United Nations' scientific assessment finds ozone layer is healing, 35 years after world stopped producing 'chomping' chemicals. Earth's protective ozone layer is slowly but noticeably healing at a pace that would fully mend the hole over Antarctica in about 43 years, a new United Nations report says.
A study published in the journal Nature has found that smoke from the 2019-20 Australian bushfires temporarily depleted the ozone layer by 3% to 5% in 2020. Smoke from the fires, which circulated around the globe, was ejected into the stratosphere, the second layer in Earth's atmosphere, by a pyrocumulonimbus cloud.
Perth, Western Australia
In fact, it's officially the sunniest capital city in the world, with an average of eight hours of sun per day, year-round. It's wonderfully close to Fremantle and Rottnest Island too, so you can take home a suitcase full of brightly-lit quokka selfies.
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'.
Sun protection is recommended whenever UV levels reach 3 or higher. Below 3, sun protection isn't recommended unless you are outdoors for extended periods or near reflective surfaces, like snow. Australians shouldn't expose themselves to potentially harmful UV to get more vitamin D.