Winter has come in Europe – UV dose estimated from space

No doubt winter has come in Europe! The Earth inclination has changed.

As observed last Winter with GOME-2 UltraViolet (UV) measurements, a big change in the effective UV irradiance reaching the Earth surface is also seen over the day between last July and nowadays.

Here below is an example with the estimated reduced Vitamine D production in our skin as a direct consequence. These pictures are from the ESA / KNMI Tropospheric Emission Monitoring Internet Service (TEMIS). Satellite UV dose is computed from the assimilated global O3 – ozone field at local solar noon, and with surface downwelling solar (SDS) radiation & cloud information measured by the Meteosat Second Generation (MSG) satellites led by the EUMETSAT agency.

Estimated Vitamin D UV dose based on MSG on 2019.07.15. Credit NMI, TEMIS, EUMETSAT. Source: http://www.temis.nl/uvradiation/UVindex.html

Estimated Vitamin D UV dose based on MSG on 2019.11.15. Credit NMI, TEMIS, EUMETSAT. Source: http://www.temis.nl/uvradiation/UVindex.html

More information

• WebBlog on Vitamin D estimated from GOME-2 UV measurements here
• Clear-sky UV index forecast from the Tropospheric Emission Monitoring Internet Service (TEMIS) here, Credit ESA / KNMI