BERLIN - Ultraviolet (UV) radiation has unexpectedly risen sharply in parts of Central Europe over recent decades, according to a new study.
Between 1997 and 2022, UV radiation in the region around Dortmund in western Germany rose significantly by more than 10 per cent, Germany's Office for Radiation Protection (BFS) said in a statement on Thursday, as reported by the German news agency dpa.
In the Brussels area in Belgium, radiation increased by almost 20 per cent during the same period, the researchers found. The study was published in the journal Photochemical & Photobiological Sciences.
Its authors were surprised by the results, the report stated. They had assumed radiation had increased only moderately since the late 1990s.
The significant increase is mainly due to a reduction in cloud cover in Central Europe, the researchers said.
"This change, which may also be caused by climate change, leads to more hours of sunshine. Consequently, more time for the sun's UV radiation to reach the Earth," the BFS said in its report.
For the study, the scientists analysed UV data from a measuring station in Dortmund. They then compared the values with a UV measuring station near Brussels, which has the same latitude.
"The results show that personal exposure to UV radiation for the population in Germany may increase," explained the BFS. This highlights the importance of developing additional measures to counteract the rising UV exposure in Europe.
Excessive UV radiation can trigger illnesses such as skin cancer. The more intense and frequent the skin is exposed to UV rays, the higher the risk of developing skin cancer.
Sunscreen, long clothing, and shaded areas are important protection, especially in summer. UV radiation can neither be seen nor felt, the BFS said, and it is also present when the sun is not shining. - BERNAMA-dpa