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page last modified:
February 2024
     

Clear-sky UV index forecast

The clear-sky UV index is a measure for the effective UV irradiance (1 unit equals 25 mW/m2) reaching the Earth's surface. The clear-sky UV index is based on the CIE action spectrum for the susceptibility of the caucasian skin to sunburn (erythema) and it is valid for cloud-free conditions at local solar noon, i.e. when the sun is highest in the sky.

Forecasts are provided for today (shown below) and the next few days (follow links below the maps). Only the forecast UV index maps for today are available in the WHO colours; all other maps are in the default TEMIS UV colour bar. See below for some notes on the UV index colour bar.

Today -- Europe Today -- World
UV index UV index
Today -- Benelux Today -- Dutch Caribbean & Suriname
UV index UV index
The above maps are made with the official World Health Organisation (WHO) colour bar for the UV index rounded to integer values.

Switch to the default TEMIS UV colour bar

 
Data:   Today and coming days at your location

Maps:  Europe  |  Benelux  |  Dutch Caribbean & Suriname  |  World

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Archives

version 2.0-2.2:
 
Erythemal UV index
 
UV index timeseries at selected locations
 
Overview of all archives
 
versions 1.2-1.4:
 
Data is no longer available
 

Notes on the UV index colour bar

The international definition of the UV index is coordinated by the World Health Organisation (WHO). In the communication to the public the UV index is rounded to integers (1,2,3,...), where the value 0 (zero) is not used, and the scale runs up to 11. For each of these UV index levels specific colours are defined (see page 22 of this PDF):

The TEMIS UV data itself is available in real numbers (with three decimals) and the default colour map for the TEMIS UV data is chosen to show a large range of variability, where different maps have different upper limits of the scale.

WHO UV index recommended protection
The WHO recommends
to apply protection
when the UV index
is 3 or higher.
 
 

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