A Study of UVER in Santiago, Chile Based on Long-Term In Situ Measurements (Five Years) and Empirical Modelling

Abstract

Ultraviolet radiation is a highly energetic component of the solar spectrum that needs to be monitored because is harmful to life on Earth, especially in areas where the ozone layer has been depleted, like Chile. This work is the first to address the long-term (five-year) behaviour of ultraviolet erythemal radiation (UVER) in Santiago, Chile (33.5° S, 70.7° W, 500 m) using in situ measurements and empirical modelling. Observations indicate that to alert the people on the risks of UVER overexposure, it is necessary to use, in addition to the currently available UV index (UVI), three more erythema indices: standard erythemal doses (SEDs), minimum erythemal doses (MEDs), and sun exposure time (tery). The combination of UVI, SEDs, MEDs, and tery shows that in Santiago, individuals with skin types III and IV are exposed to harmfully high UVER doses for 46% of the time that UVI indicates is safe. Empirical models predicted hourly and daily values UVER in Santiago with great accuracy and can be applied to other Chilean urban areas with similar climate. This research inspires future advances in reconstructing large datasets to analyse the UVER in Central Chile, its trends, and its changes.