Sun power

An umbrella is for the rain and an umbrella is for the sun. So both offer protection. The strength of the sun has become greater and greater in recent years, making it all the more important to provide yourself and children with proper sun protection.

Sun power

Sun power indicates how much Uv radiation is in the rays of sunlight that reach the earth. The UV index scale ranges between 1 and 10 with 1 representing very low sun power and 10 representing the maximum amount of sun power. The probability of extremely high sun power is high in summer. With higher sun power, the skin burns much faster than with low sun power. Depending on your skin type, you can get sunburned in less than 10 minutes at high sun strength.

UV radiation

It is important to know the sun strength before you go outside. You can easily check the sun strength at the KNMI or Weatheronline. Sometimes the temperature is low, but the sun power is still high and you burn before you are aware of it. The degree of sun power is related to cloud cover. With clouds, the sun power is lower than without clouds. But this does not mean that clouds automatically lower sun power dramatically. There is still sun power with clouds. Clouds allow 80 percent of the UV radiation to pass through. Other factors that affect sun power are the amount of dust and moisture in the atmosphere and in the ozone layer.

UVA and UVB radiation

UVA radiation causes skin aging. UVB radiation causes burning of the skin. The "A" stands for "aging" and the "B" stands for "burning. 94 percent of Dutch people have burned in the sun on occasion. Most often we get sunburn on the shoulders, back, nose and forehead. Prolonged exposure can lead to skin cancer. This is especially true for young children. Skin cancer is the most common type of cancer in the Netherlands.

Protection

We can protect ourselves in several ways. Preventively by not going outside when sun strength is at its highest. Using a garden parasol has a protective factor of 5. About the same as oiling the skin. A good protection is to wear Uv clothing. Uv clothing with UPF 50+ blocks as much as 98 percent of the radiation.