Menu
Sun Safety

Is the sun safer in the winter?

The connection between sun damage and skin cancer in winter months.
MoleMap Team
November 17, 2023
5 minutes

Win­ter is quick­ly approach­ing, and we can final­ly ease up on wor­ry­ing about sun­burn and skin can­cer and ditch the sun­screen. Or so we thought.

Just because the days are grow­ing cool­er and the sun seems hid­den behind the clouds does not mean our skin is safer from the dam­ag­ing effects of the sun.

When win­ter comes, peo­ple often for­get that there is still sun. The truth is, as long it’s day time, up to 80% of the sun’s UV rays can fil­ter through the thick­est cloud cov­er. So while we don’t feel the sun’s heat this sea­son, noth­ing has changed: the skin can still get UV-relat­ed sun dam­age in the win­ter, and we should still be wary of the sun’s effects on our skin.

Do you want to read this article later?

Do you want to read this article later?
Thank you! Your submission has been received!
Oops! Something went wrong while submitting the form.

Sun Dam­age and Skin Can­cer in the Winter

Skin can­cer risks fluc­tu­ate from sea­son to sea­son. While sum­mer does offer some of the strongest sun rays of the year, that doesn’t mean that win­ter is a time to stop using pro­tec­tion. Radi­a­tion can still bounce off the clouds, mak­ing them more focused and more risky, even when tem­per­a­tures dip.

Allow­ing the sun (even the win­ter sun) to pen­e­trate the skin can cause dam­age to skin cells. Over time, those cells may find it hard­er to reju­ve­nate. Even­tu­al­ly, this type of UV dam­age will change the struc­ture of the cells and how they work, and this may result in skin cancer.

Since too many peo­ple fall for the myth that clouds help pro­tect them from the sun, they may actu­al­ly increase their risk of skin can­cer dur­ing the win­ter months. Canstar Can­nex (via My Body + Soul) reveals less than 20% of the Aus­tralians wear sun­screen dur­ing win­ter. In addi­tion, the extra cloth­ing worn this time of year can make detec­tion hard­er if you aren’t tak­ing the time to look for sus­pi­cious spots and moles, regard­less of the weath­er outside.

The Sun Doesn’t Go Away in the Winter

The days may seem dark­er dur­ing the win­ter time, but the sun is still there, radi­at­ing UV rays. You can’t see or feel UV radi­a­tion, which is one of the rea­sons why peo­ple equate the warmth of sum­mer with them. What many peo­ple do not realise is that the three basic types of UV rays (UB, UVA, UVC), can cause skin dam­age dur­ing any time of the year if they are strong enough.

But how do you know when those rays are dan­ger­ous? The tem­per­a­ture out­side can’t tell you; nor can the amount of sun­shine seen. The most effi­cient way to gauge the strength of the UV rays at any giv­en time is through the UV Index.

This inter­na­tion­al scale ranges from 1 to 20 (with lev­els three and above con­sid­ered dan­ger­ous to the skin). To see Australia’s UV risk in real time, check out the index offered by the Aus­tralian Radi­a­tion Pro­tec­tion and Nuclear Safe­ty Agency.

Cloud Cov­er and UV Radiation

A cloudy day can be mis­lead­ing. Accord­ing to Ver­non Carr, nation­al man­ag­er of pub­lic weath­er ser­vices at the Bureau of Mete­o­rol­o­gy, in an inter­view with ABC Sci­ence,

A lot of peo­ple think that if it’s a hot day they’re going to get a lot of UV so they need to use sun­screen, but on a cold day they’ll be okay. It does­n’t work like that. UV radi­a­tion’s got noth­ing to do what­so­ev­er with the temperature.

UV is affect­ed by many things. One of those is cloud, but it depends upon what type of cloud it is, the thick­ness of the cloud and whether it is deep right through the atmos­phere. UV radi­a­tion can pen­e­trate through thin cloud, so you can still get high lev­els of UV at ground lev­el on over­cast days.

Radi­a­tion can bounce off the sides of the clouds, becom­ing more focused, so we must still be care­ful when out­side, even on a cloudy win­ter day.

What's my skin cancer risk?

Answer six simple questions (takes less than 1 minute) to discover your risk and the right skin check for you.
Check my risk

Keep­ing Your Skin Safe dur­ing Winter

Sure, stay­ing out of the sun may be the best way to pre­vent skin can­cer, but who wants to hide indoors all day? It’s always good to enjoy the out­doors, but that does not mean that you have to put your­self at risk. Below are some tips you can apply to avoid dam­ag­ing your skin:

  • Wear sun­screen at all times — no mat­ter the time of day or time of year.
  • Wear a hat, sun­glass­es, and long sleeves.
  • Stay out of the direct sun dur­ing peak UV ray hours (10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.).
  • Check your skin reg­u­lar­ly for odd spots, and don’t ignore any skin changes. Use this arti­cle as your guide to do self-checks.
  • If you notice any spots or moles that con­cern you, vis­it your doc­tor or spe­cial­ist for fur­ther assessment.

What to Do About Odd Skin Spots

You are dili­gent about check­ing your skin for unusu­al spots, lesions, or moles and have noticed some­thing new — what do you do now? First, don’t pan­ic. Not every new spot or mark on your skin sig­ni­fies can­cer. Some of those spots come with nor­mal ageing.

The key is to under­stand the risk fac­tors involved, per­form self-exam­i­na­tions reg­u­lar­ly, and know the red flags. If you deter­mined that you are a high-risk per­son or you’ve found some red flags, vis­it your GP for fur­ther examination.

Spot It to Stop It: Ear­ly Detec­tion Is Vital

Detect­ing skin can­cer ear­ly is the key to a suc­cess­ful treat­ment. So whether the sun is out or not, whether it’s sum­mer or win­ter, it pays to be aware of the signs of skin can­cer — because the sun and its harm­ful rays don’t take a sab­bat­i­cal on win­ter sea­son.

If you need to have it checked by a spe­cial­ist, find the near­est MoleMap skin cancer clin­ics. MoleMap is a trust­ed pro­vid­ed of melanoma detec­tion ser­vices in Aus­tralia. We pro­vide spot checks, skin checks, or a full body mole check to look for signs of melanoma and oth­er types of skin can­cer. Vis­it this page to find a skin clin­ic near you.

MoleMap Team

At MoleMap we check, detect and treat skin cancer. Find out how you can protect your skin at your nearest MoleMap skin cancer clinic.

Latest News

Arrow IconArrow Icon

Sunblock vs sunscreen - What is the difference?

Read now

Best sunscreen for face – by skin type

Read now

Sunscreen and the difference between SPF and UPF

Read now

How to fade sunspots on your face: what works and what doesn’t

Read now

Understanding UPF: The best clothes to wear for sun protection

Read now

Sunscreen for dark skin: Do you really need it?

Read now

Want the security of ongoing mole monitoring?

Subscribe to our monthly newsletter

Get preventative tips & hints on how to spot suspect moles. Plus, sun smart giveaways.
Thanks for subscribing!
Keep an eye on your inbox. We'll be there soon with all the skinformation to help you stay safe.
Close
Oops! Something went wrong while submitting the form.