What's the deal with UV?

There are three types of UV radiation, categorised by wavelength: UVA, UVB and UVC.
UVA can cause sunburn, DNA or cell damage in the skin, and skin cancer. It penetrates deep into the skin, affecting the living skin cells that lie under the skin’s surface. UVA causes long-term damage like wrinkles, blotchiness, sagging and roughening, and also contributes to skin cancer.
UVB causes skin damage and skin cancer. Ozone stops most UVB from reaching the earth’s surface, but about 15% is still transmitted. UVB radiation penetrates the top layer of skin and is the main cause of skin damage and skin cancer.
UVC is the most dangerous type of UV. Ozone in the atmosphere absorbs all UVC and it does not reach the earth’s surface.
UV levels are affected by a number of factors including geographic location, altitude, time of day, time of year and cloud cover. This means that UV levels are higher in some parts of Australia than others even on the same day.
Sunscreens work by filtering both UVA and UVB radiation. In laboratory conditions, when used as directed, SPF30 sunscreen filters 96.7% of UV radiation and SPF50 filters 98%. Both provide excellent protection if they are applied properly.
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