If there is one item you should pack when visiting New Zealand it is sunscreen. It can be very hot here, but more importantly the UV radiation is extremely high. In some cases it is 40% higher than a summer in North America. Based on the UV Index 0 – 11(eleven being extremely high UV radiation), I would say 95% of my days in New Zealand have been 11. I’ll even post a picture from the local paper of the UV radiation chart. I figured it was high because of the depletion of the Ozone, but that is only one cause. There are actually 3 reasons why the UV radiation is so high in New Zealand. The first is the depletion of the Ozone. The Second is caused from the sun being closer to the Earth. During December/January(which is NZ’s summer) the sun is closest to the Earth, while during June/July(America’s Summer) the Sun is furthest from the Earth. The last reason is one I never would have thought of, the lack of pollution. Because the air is so clean the UV radiation is able to penetrate into atmosphere more. Those are three very good reasons to bring your 30+ sunscreen to New Zealand.
