ROMA (ITALPRESS) – Ultraviolet solar radiation (UV) is increasing at European level: it reveals a study published on Springer Nature, which has collected data between 2013 and 2022 from 40 different European stations, including the ENEA Observatory of Lampedusa.
“With the satellite it is possible to estimate for some years the amount of UV radiation that reaches the ground, but this methodology is affected by some restrictions related to cloud cover and resolution. For this reason, at the initiative of some colleagues from the University of Vienna, we felt the need to put together measurements on the ground of ultraviolet radiation,” comments Alcide di Sarra, ENEA researcher of the Sustainability Department that has been working for many years at the Lampedusa Air Observatory.
The study found statistically significant trends in the increase of ultraviolet radiation on the ground in 26 sites on 40 between 2013 and 2022, ranging from + 0.46% to + 2.62% per year and are higher in central and lower Europe in southern Europe. The average value of the increase is +11.2% in 10 years.
The causes of the increase at European level have to do mainly with a reduction in the number of clouds: “The observed difference was not so much linked to ozone variations, which in the past had much concern for the entire scientific community. In fact, we have not observed significant changes in ozone during the period under review, which have been detected in the cloud cover. A small change in the characteristics of the clouds produces important consequences on the overall balance of radiation, in particular ultraviolet radiation and, more generally, climate. It is difficult to tell exactly what the change of cloud is determined, it could have to do with climate change but at the moment we can not say it for sure,” adds Sarra.
The increase in ultraviolet radiation is lower in southern Europe and, in line with what is observed in other stations in southern Europe, the data observed by ENEA in Lampedusa does not show an appreciable increase in UV radiation in the analyzed period.
The increase in ultraviolet solar radiation affects human health (it is associated with increased incidence of skin cancer and cataract), as well as terrestrial and marine ecosystems. The project to which Lampedusa’s ENEA station participated, thus contributes to understanding and mitigating the impact of changes in ultraviolet solar radiation on human health, as provided by the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
In addition to the ENEA Observatory in Lampedusa, three other Italian stations contributed: Aosta (managed by ARPA Valle d’Aosta), Florence (CNR and Consorzio LAMMA) and Rome ( Sapienza University).
– photos Pexels.com –
(ITALPRESS).
