Developing a UV climatology for public health purposes using satellite data

Area of Science:

• Environmental Science
• Atmospheric Science
• Public Health

Background:

• Solar ultraviolet (UV) radiation impacts life, with both harmful overexposure and essential benefits like Vitamin D synthesis.
• Accurate UV data considering influencing factors is vital for optimizing public exposure and health interventions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a UV climatology for Switzerland using satellite data for population-level risk assessment.
• To create a versatile tool for visualizing and analyzing UV exposure at regional and national scales.

Main Methods:

• Adapted a ground-based radiation estimation algorithm to the UV domain using clear-sky radiation transfer and cloud modification factor models.
• Utilized satellite imagery to compute global UV erythemal irradiance at 1.5-2 km spatial and hourly temporal resolutions over 15 years.

Main Results:

• Validated the algorithm with meteorological data, showing expanded uncertainty of ±0.3 for low UVI (<3) and up to ±1.5 for high UVI (>6).
• Clear-sky uncertainty ranges from 10-15%, with the climatology enabling visualization of potential UV exposure across Switzerland.

Conclusions:

• The developed UV climatology offers a versatile resource for environmental and occupational health applications.
• The methodology can be extended globally, supporting national prevention strategies and tailored UV research.