Is UV 5 high?
Officially UV 5 is "moderate" — but it's the top of the moderate band, and in practice it deserves respect: fair skin burns in roughly 40–50 minutes at UV 5. For a full afternoon outside you want sunscreen; for a 15-minute walk you don't.
What each number means in practice
- UV 3 — the protection threshold. Extended midday exposure starts to matter for fair skin (~70–80 min to burn). A hat covers most casual exposure.
- UV 4 — solidly moderate. Fair skin burns within an hour; sunscreen for outdoor plans longer than a lunch break.
- UV 5 — top of moderate. ~40–50 minutes to burn for fair skin. Sunscreen for any sustained midday time outside.
- UV 6 — this is where "high" officially begins. ~35 minutes to burn; protect deliberately: SPF 30+, sunglasses, ideally shade at solar noon.
- UV 7 — strong summer sun in most temperate cities. ~30 minutes to burn for fair skin, and darker types (IV) start burning within 1.5 hours too.
Burn times are for Fitzpatrick type II skin — see the fullburn time chart for all six types, and themethodology behind the numbers.
The one-line rule
Treat 3 as "start protecting" and 6 as "protect properly."And remember the number is a midday peak — early morning and evening are usually 1–2 bands lower, which is exactly what the hourly chart on our live dashboard shows.