GLOBAL WARMING – UV RADIATION

 

It is well known by everyone that global warming has caused holes on the surface of ozone layer by which UV (ultraviolet) rays enters earth and also it is being harmful to us. But most of us doesn’t know how or in what way it is harmful to us? Here it is.

For 30 years there has been concern that anthropogenic damage to the Earth's stratospheric ozone layer will lead to an increase of solar ultraviolet (UV) radiation reaching the Earth's surface, with a consequent adverse impact on human health, especially to the skin. More recently, there has been an increased awareness of the interactions between ozone depletion and climate change (global warming), which could also impact on human exposure to terrestrial UV. The most serious effect of changing UV exposure of human skin is the potential rise in incidence of skin cancers.  The incidence of skin cancers continues to increase in most light-skinned populations, probably due to risky sun exposure behavior. Photodermatoses and phototoxic reactions to drugs are not uncommon; management of the latter includes recognition of the risks by the prescribing physician. Exposure to UV radiation has benefits for health through the production of vitamin D in the skin and modulation of immune function. The latter has hazards for skin diseases such as psoriasis and possibly for systemic autoimmune diseases such as multiple sclerosis. The health risks of sun exposure can be mitigated through appropriate sun protection, such as clothing with both good UV-blocking characteristics and adequate skin coverage, sunglasses, shade, and sunscreen. New sunscreen preparations provide protection against a broader spectrum of solar radiation, but it is not clear that this has benefits for health. Changes in the epidemiology of UV-induced eye diseases are less clear, due to a lack of data. Exposure to UV radiation plays a role in the development of cataracts (clouding of the normal clear lens of the eye), pterygium (a growth that starts on the clear tissue of the eye which can spread to cornea) and possibly age-related macular degeneration; these are major causes of visual impairment world-wide Gaps in knowledge make it difficult to derive evidence-based sun protection advice that balances the risks and benefits of sun exposure.