Do you know what today is? It's Don't Fry Day.

The EPA, joined by the National Council on Skin Cancer Prevention and the Centers for Diseases Control and Prevention, is recognizing the Friday before Memorial Day as Don’t Fry Day to encourage Americans to protect their skin and eye health from overexposure to the sun

“While social distancing, there are still many instances where we are working or otherwise enjoying the outdoors,” said EPA Principal Deputy Assistant Administrator for the Office of Air and Radiation Anne Idsal. “EPA’s free UV Index app gives Americans the UV intensity forecast so we can take precautions to avoid UV overexposure and protect our health.”

EPA, the National Weather Service, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention work together to make the UV Index forecast available in the United States.

Overexposure to UV is harmful and can lead to cataracts and skin cancer, the most common cancer in the Unites States.  The National Cancer Institute estimates that more than 100,350 new cases of melanoma, the most dangerous form of skin cancer, will occur in 2020. This is over 4,000 more estimated cases than in 2019.

Here's some hints to reduce your risk:

EPA is implementing the Montreal Protocol, a treaty to ban substances that deplete the stratospheric ozone layer. A healthy stratospheric ozone layer helps block harmful UV rays. EPA recently released a report concerning EPA’s Atmospheric and Health Effects Framework Model, which is used to estimate incidences of UV-induced health effects such as skin cancer and cataracts that may result from stratospheric ozone depletion. The report indicates that the successful global implementation of the Montreal Protocol will prevent 443 million cases of skin cancer and 63 million cases of cataracts for Americans born between 1890 and 2100.

Source: EPA, which is solely responsible for the information provided and is wholly owned by the source. Informa Business Media and all its subsidiaries are not responsible for any of the content contained in this information asset.