UV indexUV index in Milford

The UV index shows how strong the UV rays are when they reach the Earth. It tells you how intense those rays are and how much they could harm your skin or eyes. The higher the number, the faster you can get sunburned and the more dangerous it is to stay in the sun.

UV radiation affects your health in both good and bad ways. Small amounts help your body produce vitamin D, which strengthens your bones and muscles. But too much UV exposure may damage your tissues and weaken your immune system. Overexposure may lead to serious eye and skin conditions, such as photokeratitis, conjunctivitis, cataracts, pterygium, or even cancer.

Intense or prolonged UV exposure may cause immediate effects like sunburn or sun allergies, as well as long-term skin and lip damage. This includes early aging, loss of skin elasticity, DNA damage in skin cells, and various types of skin and lip cancer, such as melanoma and carcinoma.

UVA rays are long-wave ultraviolet radiation. The atmosphere barely stops them, so they make up most of the UV radiation that reaches the Earth. They penetrate deep into your skin, cause premature aging, and can lead to cancer. UVB rays are medium-wave radiation. About 90% gets absorbed by the atmosphere, but what gets through causes sunburn, damages your DNA directly, and plays a big role in skin cancer. UVC rays are short-wave ultraviolet radiation. These are the most harmful type, but, luckily, the atmosphere blocks them completely, so none reach the Earth.

SPF stands for Sun Protection Factor. It shows how well a sunscreen protects your skin from UV rays and sunburn. For example, SPF 15 lets only 1/15th of UV radiation reach your skin, while SPF 30 allows just 1/30th. In other words, SPF 15 blocks about 93% of UV rays, SPF 30 blocks around 97%, SPF 50 blocks 98%, and SPF 100 blocks 99%. Keep in mind that no sunscreen gives you 100% protection.