UV Index Switzerland
According to the WHO, the average daily ambient ultraviolet radiation in Switzerland is 2,158 J/m² (joules per square metre).
UV radiation overview
Switzerland straddles latitudes of roughly 45.8°N to 47.8°N in the heart of Central Europe, a mid-latitude position that already delivers strong summer sun. What sets the country apart is its extraordinary vertical range: from the shores of Lake Geneva and Lake Maggiore near 200–370 metres up to the 4,634-metre summit of Dufourspitze in the Monte Rosa massif. This compact span from temperate lowlands to permanently glaciated alpine peaks creates wildly different UV environments within just a few dozen kilometres of horizontal distance.
Switzerland hosts the World Radiation Center at PMOD/WRC in Davos, the international reference for solar irradiance measurements, and the high-altitude Sphinx observatory on the Jungfraujoch at 3,580 metres performs some of the longest-running alpine UV records in the world. MeteoSwiss notes that UV irradiance rises roughly 10–12% per kilometre of altitude, so a sunny day on a 3,000-metre glacier already delivers far more UV than the plateau below. Fresh snow on alpine glaciers can reflect up to 80% of incoming UV, nearly doubling the effective dose on skin and eyes.
Switzerland sits at #162 of 191 in the WHO's global ambient-UV ranking with about 2,158 J/m² of average daily UV, around the 15th percentile worldwide.
UV Radiation in Switzerland
This ranks 162 out of 191 countries measured worldwide — where 1 receives the most UV radiation.
Source: WHO Global Health Observatory (1997–2003)
