# Could UV/Suntanning/Burning be very different in Hawaii? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 25, 2021, 5:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-uv-suntanning-burning-be-very-different-in-hawaii/933710 "2021-02-25T05:32:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![edwin\_klockars](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@edwin\_klockars](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/edwin_klockars)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2021, 5:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-uv-suntanning-burning-be-very-different-in-hawaii/933710/1 "2021-02-25T05:32:59Z")
I’ve been living in Hawaii for the last six months and one thing that struck me as strange is that it’s very difficult to tan/burn here. The weather is always sunny with few clouds and I do spend a fair amount of time outside yet I don’t find I am burning despite not wearing sunscreen (I did at first but after a while realized it wasn’t necessary). By contrast, I have spent a fair bit of time in the Caribbean and there it’s quite easy to tan/burn in a single day of being in the sun. Even summers on the east coast seem to have a more pronounced effect on my skin than the sun in Hawaii. Is there any known phenomenon that could explain what I am experiencing? ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2021, 5:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-uv-suntanning-burning-be-very-different-in-hawaii/933710/2 "2021-02-25T05:59:16Z")
Winter, when the sun is lower in the sky, and the days are shorter. I can’t see why there would be any other difference vs the Caribbean, which is at exactly the same latitude. Dust and haze do scatter UV, but I don’t think Hawaii is known for that… Perhaps your perception of being outside for a similar amount of time is not really correct. Are you doing the same kind of thing? ---
**Author:** ![Schnitte](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/schnitte/32/9033_2.png) [@Schnitte](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Schnitte)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2021, 10:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-uv-suntanning-burning-be-very-different-in-hawaii/933710/3 "2021-02-25T10:12:25Z")
The maps on [this website](https://atmosphere.copernicus.eu/ozone-monitoring), an EU-run ozone monitoring project, indicate that there’s a (slightly) higher concentration of ozone in the atmosphere above Hawaii compared to the Caribbean. That may also be a factor. ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2021, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-uv-suntanning-burning-be-very-different-in-hawaii/933710/4 "2021-02-26T13:59:24Z")
Maybe it’s as simple as, since you’re living in Hawaii, you’ve built up a tan ‘base’ so you’re naturally protected, whereas when a fair-complected person goes on vacation in the Caribbean pasty white from being indoors all winter, they forget sunscreen, underestimate their time in the sun on their first day, and get fried. I’m a white person who lives in Michigan, so when spring / summer finally gets here I’m careful to liberally apply sunscreen before outdoor activities at first so I don’t burn. But after awhile I notice I don’t really need the sunscreen as much, since I’ve developed enough of a base tan, even though I don’t look very tan to myself looking in the mirror. If I compared myself to a winter pic of me though, I’m sure I’d notice a difference. ---
**Author:** ![Hampshire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hampshire/32/4887_2.png) [@Hampshire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hampshire)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2021, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-uv-suntanning-burning-be-very-different-in-hawaii/933710/5 "2021-02-26T21:48:14Z")
> [@Riemann](#): > > Winter, when the sun is lower in the sky This is some of it also. Overhead sun is more intense than sun coming in at an angle. If you’ve been in Hawaii since September you haven’t experienced the most intense Summer sun in Hawaii yet. Even though the temps may not change that much.