FARGO — The hot weather Sunday probably brought out a lot of sunscreen, and with good reason. Skin cancer is a real and serious threat from long-term sun exposure. Not only that, a sunburn can be painful. Many people associate hot weather with sunburn risk, but the risk of sunburn has nothing to do with temperature. Although it seems counter-intuitive, a sunburn is just as likely in temperatures below zero as in temperatures near 100 degrees.
It isn't the temperature that damages your skin. Your skin does not burn at 100 degrees or even 150 degrees. It is within the ultraviolet wavelengths of sunlight where the rays which cause sunburn and skin cancer occur, and these rays are always a part of the solar light spectrum. The longer summer days and higher sun angle do increase the exposure, but it is mostly our tendency to wear less clothing and spend more time outside in warm weather that makes summer the sunburn season.
The Trust Project
