UV Index Ecuador
According to the WHO, the average daily ambient ultraviolet radiation in Ecuador is 4,929 J/m² (joules per square metre).
UV radiation overview
Ecuador straddles the equator on South America's Pacific coast, stretching from about 1°27′N at the Colombian border to roughly 5°S in the southern Andes, with the Galápagos archipelago sitting on the equator some 1,000 km offshore. Because the country lies directly under the sun's annual path, solar noon places the sun near the zenith year-round, and day length stays close to twelve hours every month. Combined with a narrow seasonal swing in solar elevation, this equatorial geometry delivers persistently strong incoming solar radiation across the coast, the Andean Sierra and the Amazonian Oriente.
Ecuador's signature feature is altitude on the equator: Quito sits at about 2,850 m, and peer-reviewed measurements from the Andean capital have recorded clear-sky UV Index values above 20 — among the highest ambient UVI readings reported anywhere on Earth. The volcanoes Cotopaxi (5,897 m) and Chimborazo (6,263 m, the point on the surface farthest from Earth's centre) carry glaciers under this same zenithal sun, while the Galápagos Islands experience intense equatorial UV moderated by cool Humboldt-current cloud. INAMHI, the national meteorology and hydrology institute, issues routine UV advisories warning of extreme levels over the Sierra.
Ecuador sits at #72 of 191 in the WHO's global ambient-UV ranking with about 4,929 J/m² of average daily UV, around the 63rd percentile worldwide.
UV Radiation in Ecuador
This ranks 72 out of 191 countries measured worldwide — where 1 receives the most UV radiation.
Source: WHO Global Health Observatory (1997–2003)
