Portsmouth braced for rare very high UV levels this week

The Met Office is predicting that the warm weather is set to continue in the city over the coming days with highs of 21 degrees expected by Monday.

However while the sunshine can mean BBQs and trips to the beaches, it can also bring with it some downsides - like ‘very high’ pollen levels continuing to bring misery to hay fever sufferers.

UV levels are measured on an index from one to eleven and the Met Office is forecasting that Portsmouth will experience UV levels of eight (very high) on Thursday and Friday.

The Met Office says: “The UV index does not exceed eight in the UK (8 is rare; 7 may occur on exceptional days, mostly in the two weeks towards the end of June).

“Indices of 9 and 10 are common in the Mediterranean area.”

UV levels indentify the strength of ultraviolet (UV) radiation from the sun at a particular place on a particular day, allowing you to take the necessary precautions to help reduce the impact of UV on your health.

Small amounts of UV exposure can be beneficial as it is essential in the production of vitamin D, however over exposure of UV can lead to serious health issues, such as skin damage and skin cancer.

The current forecast for Portsmouth is for mainly dry and occasionally sunny weather tomorrow and Thursday, with highs of 19 degrees on both days.

On Friday it will be sunny with highs of 20 degrees, while over the weekend the Met Office is forecasting a return to cloudy weather with highs of 19 degrees on Saturday and Sunday.

But things are looking up for Monday with sunshine and highs of 21 degrees being forecast.

The outlook for the rest of the month, according to The Met Office is: ‘During the last week of the month dry, fine and very warm, sometimes hot, weather is expected to continue in southern and central parts and this fine, settled weather is also expected for much of the week across northern parts of the country too.’