The weather may be cooling down, but don't let your guard down when it comes to protecting yourself from the sun. Today's UV index is still an 8 out of 11.
The risk of getting a sunburn is much higher on the summer solstice (June 21st) because the sun angle is higher. Look at the picture (below) which shows on June 21st the sun angle is 74° compared to 61° today.
The average UV index on June 21st is 9-10 whereas in late August that drops to 7-8. To put things in perspective, it takes 10-15 minutes to get a burn on June 21st compared to 25 minutes today.
A higher sun angles means the sun's dangerous ultraviolet radiation doesn't pass through as much of the Earth's ozone, which increases the amount of radiation we are exposed to on the ground. Today, with a lower sun angle, there's more absorption of UV radiation through the Earth's ozone layer, which slightly reduces exposure to humans.
The bottom line - keep lathering on the sun block for a little bit longer!
