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First day of summer in Sunburn and sun protection
First day of summer in Sunburn and sun protection
This occurs on June 21st in the northern hemisphere, and December 21st in the southern hemisphere. Outside the tropics, it could bring the highest level of UV radiation of the entire year. Of course, the atmosphere hasn't had time to fully warm up to the peak of summer yet, and many places are still cloudy and cool. However, if it happens to be sunny, this is the time you need UV protection the most. On the first day of summer, the earth has completed shifting its axis by 23.5 degrees, and that brings tropic-like UV rays to the temperate zones.
All locations in the tropics have the sun directly overhead at noon twice each year, and on an annual basis receive as much UV radiation as the equator does (assuming equal environmental factors).
On the first day of summer, locations in the temperate zones (up to 47 degrees latitude) could receive more UV radiation than the equator. Virtually all of Italy, New Zealand, and the eastern United States is below 47 degrees. In the west, the U.S.-Canadian border is at 49 degrees.
Locations between 47 degrees and the Arctic/Antarctic Circle, could receive as much UV radiation on the first day of summer as the tropics do on the other side of the equator (their winter). If it’s a clear, sunny day on June 21st in Reykjavik, Iceland, it will have slightly more intense UV rays than Rio de Janeiro. This is due to Reykjavik being closer to the Tropic of Cancer (23.5 degrees north), than Rio.
Fortunately as summer progresses, the earth has re-shifted its axis more in line with the equator. The real danger is that a fair-skinned person who hasn’t been exposed for months spends time out in the sun in the late spring or early summer unprotected. They may mistakenly think the UV radiation isn't so bad yet, when in fact, it's even worse.
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Sunburn and sun protection Travel Guide from Wikitravel. Many thanks to all Wikitravel contributors. Text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0, images are available under various licenses, see each image for details.