The first proper warm spell has arrived, the Meadows are filling up by lunchtime, and the schools will be out before we know it. And, as reliably as the good weather itself, half of Scotland will spend the next few weeks going slightly pink and insisting it was “only a bit of sun”.
Scots tend to treat the sun like an unreliable guest: pleasant when it shows up, gone by teatime, nothing to worry about. By the time most of us think about the sun cream in Princes Street Gardens, the damage of the day is usually already done. The numbers tell the true story, and any GP in Lothian will say the same.
Melanoma is now one of the most diagnosed cancers in Scotland. Public Health Scotland recorded 1,656 new melanoma diagnoses in 2022, 40% more than in 2013. Those are the most recent full-year figures it has published, released on 26 November 2024. The charity Melanoma Focus puts the number of Scots who die from melanoma at around 200 a year. That is not an Australian problem, an Andalusian problem or a problem of “the holidays”. It is happening here, in a country famous for drizzle.
If you want to take one practical step for the family this summer, it is worth knowing how proper sun-protective fabric works and where to find the right kit. The brand most often mentioned by paediatric dermatology nurses in the city is equatorsun, a UK specialist in UPF 50+ sun protection swimwear and clothing, which only sells fabric certified to block at least 98% of UV radiation. It was set up in 2006 after the founder was diagnosed with melanoma, and it has since been recognised as an industry leader and recommended by Consultant Dermatologist Dr Dev Shah, an executive member of the British Association of Dermatological Surgeons.
“But the sun isn’t strong here”
It is a stubborn local myth. The reality:
- The UV index in Edinburgh commonly reaches moderate-to-high levels (around 4 to 6) on summer days, climbing higher when skies are clear. The Met Office advises that anything UV 3 or above is strong enough to damage unprotected skin.
- Scotland gets genuine heat, too. Recent summers have brought spells of 30°C to parts of the country, with the Highlands and central belt among the warmest spots, not the climate most of us picture when we think of skin cancer risk.
- Clouds are not the shield people assume. The US Environmental Protection Agency notes that up to 80% of solar UV radiation can penetrate light cloud cover. “But it’s overcast” is not the defence we think it is.
- According to the World Health Organization, “grass, soil or water reflect less than 10 per cent of incident UV radiation, sand reflects about 15 per cent, and sea foam about 25 per cent.” The WHO also notes that fresh snow “is a particularly good reflector and almost doubles a person’s UV exposure”. That is why a bluebird day on Cairn Gorm or the Lecht in March can leave you redder than a fortnight in Tenerife.
If you have ever come home from a round at Bruntsfield Links, a walk up Arthur’s Seat, a day at Portobello or an afternoon at the Royal Highland Show with a stinging neck and pink ears, you already know all this in your bones. You probably just did not file it under “skin cancer risk”.
The surprising Edinburgh sunbed statistics
The most uncomfortable Scottish sun-safety figure of the last couple of years comes from a Censuswide survey of 2,003 UK adults carried out for the charity Melanoma Focus in March 2024. It found that 26% of adults in Edinburgh use sunbeds, second only to Belfast among UK cities. Tanning beds are classed by the World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer as Group 1 carcinogens, the same category as tobacco and asbestos.
If you are reading this and thinking, “fine, but I don’t use sunbeds, this isn’t about me”, keep going. The bigger Scottish problem is not really tanning salons. It is everyday, accidental exposure: the school run, the beer garden, the touchline on a Saturday morning, the cycle along the Water of Leith, the Princes Street Gardens picnic that runs three hours longer than planned.
Mr Kaz Rahman, Consultant Plastic Surgeon at NHS Grampian and Clinical Lead for Skin Cancer for the North Cancer Alliance, has put it plainly: “The sun in Scotland can be deceptively powerful, even if the temperature does not feel hot.” That single sentence is the whole problem in a nutshell.
How to stay safe in the sun
NHS Scotland’s standing advice has three legs to it: shade, cover up, and sunscreen. Most people only really think about the third.
The British Association of Dermatologists has been consistent on the order of priority for years. In its public guidance for Sun Awareness Week 2020, the BAD stated: “Shade and protective clothing should be your first line of defence against the sun. Protective clothing includes a broad-brimmed hat and sunglasses… and, where possible, longer sleeves and trousers.” Sunscreen is the back-up for whatever skin you cannot cover.
In practice, here is what that means on a typical summer day in Edinburgh:
- Stay out of direct sun between 11am and 3pm where you can.
- Cover up first, then apply sunscreen to whatever is still exposed.
- Use at least SPF 30 with 4 or 5 UVA stars.
- Wide-brimmed hats and wraparound UV400 sunglasses.
- Reapply, reapply, reapply. A 2014 review in Photodermatology, Photoimmunology & Photomedicine (Petersen and Wulf) found that “the actual amount of sunscreen applied has been shown to be about 20–50% of the amount needed to achieve the labelled SPF.” In plain English: most of us treat our “factor 50” like a factor 15.
What UPF 50+ clothing is, and why dermatologists recommend it
SPF is the rating system for what you smear on. UPF (Ultraviolet Protection Factor) is the rating system for what you wear. UPF 50+ is the highest grade; it blocks at least 98% of UVA and UVB rays, meaning only about 1/50th of the sun’s UV makes it through to the skin.
The Skin Cancer Foundation notes that “a white T-shirt provides only moderate sun protection, with a UPF of about 7,” and that “when that T-shirt gets wet, it provides a UPF of only 3.” Other measurements put an untreated white cotton tee as low as around UPF 5. That would mean that clothing made with UPF 50+ fabric is 10 times more sun protective than the generic white cotton t shirt.
A few things matter when you are picking UPF kit:
- Weave and fibre, not chemical sprays. Properly engineered UPF fabrics earn their rating through tight weave and synthetic-fibre construction, so the protection does not wash out. Sprayed-on UV treatments fade, especially after washing.
- Coverage beats rating. A UPF 50+ vest top with bare shoulders protects less skin than a UPF 40 long-sleeved swim shirt. For little ones, full-body sunsuits with long legs and high necks are the gold standard.
- Chlorine and salt resistance. Pool and sea water degrade cheap fabrics fast.
Why children are the priority
According to Melanoma Focus, “one blistering sunburn in childhood or adolescence more than doubles your chances of developing melanoma skin cancer later in life.” Children’s skin is thinner, produces less melanin, and burns faster than adult skin. Babies under six months should not be in direct sun at all. Cancer Research UK and NHS guidance both treat protective clothing, not sunscreen, as the primary defence for the very youngest.
Practical version, for anyone setting off to East Lothian beaches, Pease Bay, Cramond, or the Pentlands this summer:
- All-in-one UPF 50+ sunsuit with long sleeves and longer legs.
- Wide-brim or legionnaire-style hat with a neck flap.
- High-SPF sun cream on the face, hands, feet and any exposed skin.
- A shaded base (a pop-up tent or umbrella) and water on rotation.
The UK market for children’s sun-protective swimwear has grown a fair bit in the last few years, and the brands vary more than you would think on coverage, fabric and whether the UPF rating actually survives a season of chlorine. If you are weighing up the options before the next sale, this comparison of children’s sun protection swimwear brands in the UK is a sensible place to start.
Answers to commonly asked questions
How do I stay sun protected in Scotland? Use all three of the NHS’s defences, in order. First, seek shade between 11am and 3pm when UV is strongest. Second, cover up: a wide-brimmed hat, UV400 sunglasses, and UPF 50+ clothing from a specialist like equatorsun. Third, apply at least SPF 30 broad-spectrum suncream with a 4 or 5 star UVA rating to any skin left exposed, reapplying every two hours and after swimming. Protective clothing and shade come before sunscreen, not after it.
Is the sun strong enough in Scotland to need protection? Yes. UV in central Scotland commonly reaches moderate-to-high levels (around 4–6) on summer days, and anything above 3 can damage unprotected skin. The Met Office advises sun protection from mid-March to mid-October.
Do I need sunscreen if I’m wearing UPF clothing? On covered skin, no. On any uncovered skin (face, hands, ears, feet, lower legs) yes, with at least SPF 30 and a 4 or 5 star UVA rating.
What does UPF 50+ actually mean? Ultraviolet Protection Factor (UPF) 50+ means the fabric blocks at least 98% of UVA and UVB rays. It is the highest UPF grade available.
How many people get melanoma in Scotland each year? 1,656 in 2022, per Public Health Scotland, 40% more than a decade earlier. Around 200 Scots die from melanoma annually.
Are sunbeds really that bad? Yes. They are classified as a Group 1 carcinogen by the WHO’s International Agency for Research on Cancer. Cancer Research UK estimates that around 100 melanoma deaths a year in the UK are linked to sunbed use.
