Also pay attention to UV protection in your own garden or when taking a walk

Even though we are all spending a lot of time at home these days, UV protection is still important. The Federal Office for Radiation Protection (BfS) advises making sure that you also have sufficient UV protection in your own garden, on your own balcony, or when taking a walk with your family. Even now, in early spring, the sun's ultraviolet (UV) radiation can be so strong that it is harmful to health. In order to educate children, who are in particular need of special protection, the BfS has reissued its learning material. From April onwards, the BfS will also provide regular information on the UV Index with its UV Newsletter.

BfS President Inge Paulini stresses that "especially in the current situation in which many people are spending much more time at home because of the corona crisis, UV protection is being neglected. This is because there is no warning label for health hazards caused by UV radiation. Your skin does not start to become red until it has already been damaged. And with every sunburn – especially during childhood – the risk of developing skin cancer increases".

UV radiation can cause damage to the skin and eyes. In the worst case scenario, it can lead to cancer. Skin cancer is the most common cancer of fair-skinned people worldwide. Every year, increasing numbers of people in Germany are being diagnosed with cancer – and the trend is rising. The number of new cases has been doubling every 10 to 15 years.

Education for kindergarten and primary school children

Children are particularly sensitive to UV radiation and therefore require special protection. Severe sunburn in childhood increases the risk of malignant melanoma by two- to three-fold. The BfS has therefore also reissued its informational material for primary school children.

Together with the two characters, Valentin (a vampire) and Frederike (a bat), the children learn about the two sides of the sun through play. Although we need sunlight to feel good, it also con-tains radiation that can make us ill. The sun protection rules are taught using simple crafts and experiments. Children are then able to test their newly acquired knowledge. Parents and teachers can download the informational material from www.bfs.de/uv-unterrichtsmaterial or order it free of charge.

The UV-Newsletter sends the forecast directly into your emailbox

UV forecasts by newsletter

The UV index provides orientation for the right UV protection. It indicates the expected daily peak value of sunburn-causing UV radiation. From a UV index of 3, protection is necessary. From a UV index of 8, you should definitely seek shade and avoid going outside at midday.

The BfS sends out the UV Newsletter every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday from April to September. This contains a three-day forecast of the UV index for 10 areas in Germany. Because the UV radiation intensity depends on the cloudiness, a range of values is given. The lower value stands for the daily maximum value with predicted cloudiness, and the higher value stands for the daily maximum value with a cloudless sky.

The BfS website also displays the daily values (i.e. the UV index in the course of the day) measured at the currently 27 UV measuring stations. The values are updated every 30 minutes.

Further information on UV protection is available at www.bfs.de/uv