UV Index 🇺🇾Uruguay

Uruguay spans mid-latitudes from roughly 30.1°S to 35.0°S, placing it entirely in the southern temperate zone. Its terrain is overwhelmingly flat to gently rolling plains and low hills (cuchillas), with no significant mountain barriers to modulate solar exposure. Sun angles climb high in austral summer (December–February) and drop sharply in winter, producing a broad seasonal UV regime: very high to extreme summer UVI values under clear skies, and low winter values typical of the subtropical–temperate boundary along the Río de la Plata and South Atlantic.

Uruguay's near-uniform flat topography means UV exposure varies little across the country, and INUMET (Instituto Uruguayo de Meteorología) issues a nationwide UV index forecast rather than strongly region-specific values. The country occasionally lies beneath the edge of Antarctic ozone-hole excursions during austral spring, which can transiently elevate UVI above climatological norms. Along the Atlantic coast at Punta del Este and Rocha, high surface albedo from bright sand and water reflection further increases effective UV dose for beachgoers during the long summer season.

Uruguay sits at #132 of 191 in the WHO's global ambient-UV ranking with about 3,235 J/m² of average daily UV, around the 31st percentile worldwide.