31% of UK adults aren’t aware that UV light comes from the sun

Almost a third of UK adults don’t know that UV radiation comes from the sun or that over exposure to UV can lead to severe eye problems later on in life, new research from the Met Office reveals.

Although many are aware of the link between UV and diseases and ailments such as skin cancer (65%), sunburn (62%), 78% unconcerned about its effects on their eyes.

Despite this, the survey of 2,004 UK adults revealed 50% are aware that eye damage caused by UV rays can be irreversible. Worryingly, the research shows that just 43% of UK adults say they have sunglasses that offer UV protection.

The respondents also included 1,002 parents to kids 16 and under. Only 30% of parents said they worry about their children having too much exposure to UV and long term damage it could cause, despite the fact that children’s eyes do not fully develop and provide natural lens protection until the age of 12.

This lack of awareness may explain why nearly three-quarters of parents (72%) admit to not taking any action to protect their child’s eyes from harmful UV rays. Only a third (32%) said they prioritise packing sunglasses when going on a day out with their children, with a further third having no idea if their children’s sunglasses offered UV protection or not.  Four in ten (40%) said they don’t check UV levels before going outside, with three quarters (74%) wrongly believing there is no way to do this.

View the full case study here to find out how we carried out this research and the coverage it generated.