UV Index Program

Welcome!

Welcome to Environment Canada's gateway for the UV Index program. This page allows you to find various information on the UV Index: how to use it, today's UV Index values, etc., as well as information on how you can protect yourself against harmful UV rays. Feel free to explore this site!

     Changes to UV Index Program in 2004

Today's UV Index

Ultraviolet (UV) rays are those sun rays that can cause sunburns. Long-term exposure to UV rays has also been associated with skin cancer. Click on the title above for UV Index forecasts, observations and news.

Quick Reference - UV and You

This section guides you quickly and efficiently through the essentials of the UV Index.

Health Effects and Sun Protection

This section gives you information on how to protect yourself against damaging UV rays. It also gives links to the sites of our health partners.

Knowing UV

Here you will learn how the UV Index is defined, how to read it, what are the factors it considers and how these affect its value. Glossary and frequently asked questions (FAQs) are also in this section.

UV for students and teachers

This section gives information on the UV Index and UV rays that will be of particular interest to students and their teachers.

UV for travellers

Click here to view a general holiday alert as well as to link to the various Web sites of countries worldwide that post a UV Index forecast for their territory.

Science of UV Radiation

This page gives more scientific information about UV radiation. It will mainly interest people with more in-depth knowledge on the subject.

Past Observations - UV Climatology

Climatology is the study of climate, which is what happens with weather on average and in exceptional situations (records), based on past observations. For UV, this is similar: this is the study of how much UV there is on average and in more exceptional situations. In this section you will find maps and charts giving the typical UV values occurring at certain periods.

UV and Ozone Layer

The ozone layer, in the upper atmosphere, is the Earth's natural sunscreen. CFCs and other damaging chemicals have depleted the ozone layer, causing UV levels to increase by about five percent over southern Canada over the last few decades.

Links

This page gives you access to the Web sites of our various partners and to other information related to UV radiation.

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