What's the UV index right now?
Live UV for your location, how long until your skin burns, and when protection actually matters today.
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What the UV index means
The UV index is the World Health Organization's standard 0–11+ scale for the strength of sunburn-producing ultraviolet radiation. It's not about heat or brightness — a cool, breezy day can have extreme UV, and you can burn through light cloud cover.
- 0–2 (Low) — minimal risk for most people; no protection needed.
- 3–5 (Moderate) — fair skin can burn in under an hour; SPF 30+ for extended time outside.
- 6–7 (High) — protection needed: sunscreen, hat, shade at midday.
- 8–10 (Very high) — fair skin burns in ~15–25 minutes; limit midday exposure.
- 11+ (Extreme) — burns in minutes; avoid midday sun where possible.
Rule of thumb: UV 3 is the protection threshold. Below it, most people don't need sunscreen. At or above it, they do — regardless of temperature.
Why "time to burn" beats the raw number
A UV index of 7 means very different things for different people. Skin that always burns (Fitzpatrick type I) reaches sunburn roughly five times faster than deeply pigmented skin (type VI). That's why uv.today asks your skin type once and translates the index into an estimated time to sunburn — a number you can actually act on. Details on the math are on the methodology page.