UV Index South America
UV index overview for South American cities. Equatorial regions see extreme UV year-round — always check before going outside.
South America UV summary
Top countries
| Country | Now | Max today | WHO UV |
|---|---|---|---|
| Peru | 2 | 17 | 5,906 |
| Bolivia | 3 | 16 | 5,344 |
| Chile | 2 | 14 | 3,982 |
| Brazil | 9 | 12 | 4,552 |
| Ecuador | 1 | 12 | 4,929 |
| Colombia | 0 | 10 | 5,385 |
| Venezuela | 1 | 8 | 5,211 |
| Uruguay | 2 | 7 | 3,235 |
| Argentina | 2 | 6 | 3,476 |
| Paraguay | 2 | 6 | 4,038 |
Top cities
| City | Now | Max today | Clear sky |
|---|---|---|---|
| Arequipa | 2 | 17 | 17 |
| Cusco | 1 | 17 | 17 |
| La Paz | 3 | 16 | 18 |
| Iquique | 2 | 14 | 14 |
| Recife | 9 | 12 | 13 |
| Belo Horizonte | 7 | 12 | 12 |
| Brasília | 6 | 12 | 12 |
| Quito | 1 | 12 | 16 |
| Fortaleza | 7 | 11 | 12 |
| Santa Cruz de la Sierra | 1 | 11 | 13 |
UV radiation overview
South America straddles the equator, with intense year-round insolation driving the ascending atmospheric cells that shape the continent's tropical climate. Colombia, Ecuador, Venezuela and northern Peru sit within a few degrees of the equator and receive consistently high midday UV across all seasons. Populations away from the tropics — in southern Brazil, Argentina, Chile and Uruguay — experience strong summer UV peaks under the same Southern-Hemisphere conditions that bring Earth closest to the sun in early January.
The Andes amplify UV exposure dramatically through altitude. The range carries Aconcagua at 6,961 m, Huascarán at 6,768 m and Illimani at 6,438 m, and supports major populated cities at extreme elevation: La Paz at about 3,650 m and parts of the El Alto conurbation up to 4,200 m. The Atacama Desert is so arid that mountains over 6,000 m there remain free of glaciers, leaving high-altitude rock and salt surfaces fully exposed to direct sun.
On 29 December 2003, instruments at Bolivia's Licancabur volcano recorded a ground-level UV index of 43.3 — the highest ever documented, though some scientists dispute readings above 26.
