Health Education

New UV Index

There's a new way to rate the amount of ultraviolet light (UV) predicted for the day. The original UV Index was developed in 1994 by the National Weather Service (NWS) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The new Global UV Index, launched in 2004 by the NWS, World Health Organization and other international groups, uses a scale of 1-2, very low exposure; 3-5, moderate exposure; 6-7, high; 8-10, very high; and 11 and higher, extreme exposure. The old scale ranged from 0, minimal, to 10+, very high.