The UV index, explained for Australian conditions.
The UV index measures the strength of the sun’s ultraviolet radiation, the invisible part of sunlight that burns skin and drives skin cancer. It runs from 0 upward with no ceiling, and in Australia summer readings of 11 or more (extreme) are routine. Crucially, UV has nothing to do with temperature: a cool, breezy day can burn you just as fast as a scorcher.
The rule used by SunSmart and ARPANSA is simple: when the UV index is 3 or above, protect your skin: Slip, Slop, Slap, Seek, Slide.
The UV scale
| UV index | Level | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| 0–2 | Low | No protection needed for most people, unless outside for extended periods or near reflective surfaces like snow and water. |
| 3–5 | Moderate | Sun protection recommended: SPF 50+ sunscreen, hat, sunglasses and shade during the middle of the day. |
| 6–7 | High | Sun protection essential. Unprotected fair skin can burn in well under half an hour. |
| 8–10 | Very high | Extra protection needed: cover up, reapply sunscreen every 2 hours, and avoid the midday sun. |
| 11+ | Extreme | Fair skin can burn in minutes. Stay indoors or in full shade during the middle of the day if you can. |
Put your time in this sun on the clock.
You track your sleep and your steps. A Sunwise sun session does the same for UV: press start when you head out, and it counts your skin’s dose minute by minute against the live index, the exact numbers on this page.
- Sunscreen, on a timer. One tap logs an application; Sunwise reminds you to reapply every 2 hours, per Cancer Council advice.
- A budget, not a guess. You’re warned at three quarters of your skin type’s burn threshold, and told plainly when you’ve reached it.
- A log that follows you. Sessions save to your free profile, and your skin type comes along to any device you sign in on.
Free, for signed-in Sunwise members. Just your email, no password. We store your email, your skin type and the sessions you save. Nothing else.
Sun session · Bondi Beach
Example1:24:09
58% of UV budget
Check the live UV index for your suburb
Search 245,015 locations (15,880 Australian suburbs, 168,605 US, 36,721 UK, 20,802 Canadian and 3,007 New Zealand cities and towns) for today’s reading, tomorrow’s peak and local weather.
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What does the UV index mean for your skin?
The same UV level burns different skin at very different speeds. Fairer Fitzpatrick skin types can burn several times faster than deeper tones, though every skin type can burn and develop skin cancer. The burn-time chart shows estimated times for every skin type at every UV level, from UV 3 to an extreme UV 11+ midday. Or run a free skin check to see today’s UV translated into a burn-time estimate for you.