UV Index Today: Live Hourly UV Forecast

Ultraviolet radiation drives roughly 90% of visible skin ageing and the vast majority of non-melanoma skin cancers. Yet most people check the weather every morning and never check the UV index — even though UV, not temperature, is what damages skin. A cool, breezy day in Auckland or San Francisco can carry UV 9, while a hot hazy day in northern Europe might only hit UV 4. Knowing the number is half the battle; knowing what it means for your skin is the other half.

Our UV Forecast pulls live hourly data from Open-Meteo — a meteorological service that aggregates ECMWF, NOAA and DWD forecast models — and renders it for your exact location. We also surface the day's peak UV time, sunset, and a "no limit today" indicator on safe winter days. Pair the live UV with our Safe Sun Exposure Time calculator to convert UV into a personal burn-time window in minutes.

The dashboard also includes an SPF protection picker: toggle No SPF, SPF 15, SPF 30 or SPF 50 and watch your safe window expand. SPF is multiplicative against your Fitzpatrick baseline — a Type II skin with a 15-minute MED at UV 7 stretches to roughly 7.5 hours under SPF 30, but only if you reapply every two hours and after swimming or heavy sweating. The outdoor timer handles this for you: tap Start Outdoor Timer, walk out the door, and we'll ping you for reapplication and shade breaks.

Over time, the weekly history view turns each day's outdoor minutes into a chart, and our AI computes a 30-day UV Damage and Hyperpigmentation Risk score from your cumulative dose vs. your skin type's safe threshold. A score above 50 means substantial overexposure for your phototype — exactly the pattern that drives sun spots, melasma flares, and accelerated photo-ageing. If your risk runs high, escalate to a photo-based AI Skin Scan, run our ABCDE Mole Checker on any new or changing lesion, or take the broader 6-Cancer Risk Check.

UV behaviour is also surface-dependent. Snow reflects up to 80% of UV (which is why ski-day burns are brutal), water reflects ~25%, and dry sand ~15%. Light cloud lets through up to 80% of UV — overcast does not equal safe. Altitude adds roughly 10% UV per 1,000 m of elevation. The forecast accounts for cloud cover and elevation in its model, but you still need behaviour: hat, sunglasses, shade, and a sunscreen you actually like. Use our INCI Ingredient Analyser to vet your sunscreen's filters and avoid common irritants.

Finally, UV health intersects with whole-body wellbeing. Vitamin D production drops sharply at higher latitudes in winter, while overexposure suppresses skin immunity and accelerates collagen breakdown. For a fuller view of your health, combine UV tracking with our Skin Assessment, Selfie Skin Scan, Heart Health Check and Oral Health Check. UV tracking takes ten seconds a day and prevents decades of damage — there is no smarter free habit you can build.