"The sun in Ireland feels much 'stronger' than back home"

Su Campu

This is something I've been told by several foreigners visiting/living in Ireland, and it's maybe something that Mountainsandh can comment on. People from southern Italy, southern Spain, southern France, Poland and even Houston, Texas, have all said to me that the sun feels stronger on their skin here than in their own country and they sometimes come out in irritating red blotches after even short exposure.

The fact that the air is relatively cool means that they normally wear a jacket, as walking in the shade, etc. is cold. However, when they are in direct sunshine they say that it feels much stronger and they need to remove these jackets. Then they feel cold again the next time they step in the shade. They find this frustrating!

At first I thought they were mad but I have actually witnessed the rash on them myself (on their arms, neck, etc.), and spending a lot of time in the Mediterranean during summers I have noticed myself that the sun there doesn't feel as strong, even though the air temperature could be over 40 °C. There is an overall sense of heat, but there is not the same sudden heating when you step out in the sun. Obviously solar irradiance is stronger there, as our mid-summer irradiance is only equivalent to their April/early May level, but they probably don't get this irritation as their temperature at that time is warmer than ours due to their drier terrain, etc.

It's interesting that a Polish friend, from roughly the same latitude as here, said the same thing about our sun, which would lead me to believe that it could all be down to the combination of the cool air on locally warm skin, and the fact that cleaner air here is allowing proportionately more solar radiation through than over continental areas, where more if it is blocked/scattered by atmospheric aerosols/pollution.

Has anyone else heard people speak of this, or indeed are you one of those that feels it?

Gumbi

At face value, it sounds very anecdotal. I would be interested to hear more informed opinions, though.

Personally Ive always thought that when we do get sun , it was stronger and felt hotter at times than other 'hot country's'

Last week whilst having coffee a Turkish guy commented to me how strong the Irish sun was.

If only we could push the island a little bit farther south for summer and push it north for winter ,,

Daniel2590

I know exactly what you mean. Any time I've been in a warmer place on holidays (Florida, LA etc.) no matter where you are outside, it always feel hot. When you're in Ireland and the sun comes out from behind a cloud for example you can feel it suddenly getting hotter on your skin. When you go into shade here it doesn't feel warm like it does in hotter place. I've only felt this sudden rush of warmth in Ireland. Guess we're unique :pac:

NIMAN

This can't be true surely (if I remember my schooling from a long time ago).

The sun is hottest at the equator as it has less atmosphere to pass through, and as you go further north the amount of atmosphere increases.

http://www.answerbag.com/q_view/78904

I think an Irish Tan lasts longer too.


( when we get to accquire one, that is..):)

Harps

Daniel2590 wrote: »

I know exactly what you mean. Any time I've been in a warmer place on holidays (Florida, LA etc.) no matter where you are outside, it always feel hot. When you're in Ireland and the sun comes out from behind a cloud for example you can feel it suddenly getting hotter on your skin. When you go into shade here it doesn't feel warm like it does in hotter place. I've only felt this sudden rush of warmth in Ireland. Guess we're unique :pac:

Doesn't really explain people getting a rash but I'd say that's probably the main reason for it. On a day with a northerly breeze for example, it can feel very chilly even if its a decent summers day but as soon as you find a sheltered spot in direct sunlight the apparent temperature shoots right up

In the Mediterranean and elsewhere you don't get that chilly feel when you're not in the sun so that sudden warming effect isn't as obvious even though the sun is a lot stronger in reality

ninebeanrows

Very unscientific here but is it not just down to the contrast between the general cool air temperature and strength of the sun when it breaks through.

The changing conditions may cause shock and irritation.

Like the suns power would be similar here to say Poland during summer, however our air temperature would be significantly cooler.

Rougies

I would say there's a very simple explanation. Relativity. Not necessarily Einsteinian or anything but I'm sure there are some parallels!

When you're warm cold things feels colder and when you're cold warm things feel warmer. We all know that. And it's as simple as that regarding the feeling of heat from the sun in this country when it's very on/off with passing showers. It plays havoc with the body, basicalaay tricki hsdfrmkln

But then the blotch.

Rougies

Weathercheck wrote: »

Very unscientific here but is it not just down to the contrast between the general cool air temperature and strength of the sun when it breaks through.

The changing conditions may cause shock and irritation.

Like the suns power would be similar here to say Poland during summer, however our air temperature would be significantly cooler.

Exactly my thoughts. And add to the fact we're probably more resiliant to 4 seasons in 1 hour than most "non-seasoned" folk!

It's another side of the thing I've come across where I'd be outside a pub and it'd be around freezing and I'd be fine in a tshirt and hoodie while Scandinavians would be layered up and still shivering. When I was in Germany it was a couple of degrees above freezing and only needed to zip up a hoodie when there was a bit of a breeze. Anything over 18 degrees in Ireland feels oppressive to me while in Lanzarote 35 degrees was fine.
To me anyway there's only a very small temperature range in Ireland that I'm comfortable in whereas in other countries just walking around in a tshirt has a 20 degree range.

Miss Lockhart

I suffer from Polymorphic Light Eruption, a type of sunlight allergy, and I find it is actually worse in Ireland than in hotter countries. I don't know why, but I agree that whilst I feel greater overall warmth in these countries, I feel a burning direct heat here and the rash comes up quicker. Totally unscientific and I've no idea why.

Meirleach

I thought this was caused by the fact that the ozone is so thin over Ireland, so you get burnt worse even with less direct sunlight.

Miss Lockhart

Deleted User wrote: »

It's another side of the thing I've come across where I'd be outside a pub and it'd be around freezing and I'd be fine in a tshirt and hoodie while Scandinavians would be layered up and still shivering. When I was in Germany it was a couple of degrees above freezing and only needed to zip up a hoodie when there was a bit of a breeze. Anything over 18 degrees in Ireland feels oppressive to me while in Lanzarote 35 degrees was fine.
To me anyway there's only a very small temperature range in Ireland that I'm comfortable in whereas in other countries just walking around in a tshirt has a 20 degree range.

I really feel the cold in proper winter countries (nearly died with the biting wind in NYC in December) but I have come across these comments about our winters like you say.

I work with a lot of people from Czech Republic/Poland/Latvia/Lithuania and they spend the whole winter bundled up in quilted jackets and wearing gloves inside - constantly saying that Ireland is so cold, despite the fact their own countries are significantly colder.

Popoutman

Meirleach wrote: »

I thought this was caused by the fact that the ozone is so thin over Ireland, so you get burnt worse even with less direct sunlight.

Ozone layer over us is no thinner than e.g. continental US or Africa (based on NASA TOMS data over the past few years).

Don't forget that as a race, we tend to burn faster than the majority of europeans. Add to that that the fact that we soak up sun when we get it as it's so rare that we get a decent block of it

DOCARCH

Su Campu wrote: »

..... the fact that cleaner air here is allowing proportionately more solar radiation through than over continental areas, where more if it is blocked/scattered by atmospheric aerosols/pollution.

I suspect this may have a little to do with it.

stoneill

So the consensus is that in "warmer climes" the heat you feel is from convection of hot ambient air and in Ireland the heat is due to radiated heat direct from the sun ?

Victor

You need to take into account a number of factors.

Note that the sun is more likely to be in direct view as opposed to overhead.

I wonder if the frequencies of light getting through are different.

Miss Lockhart wrote: »

I really feel the cold in proper winter countries (nearly died with the biting wind in NYC in December) but I have come across these comments about our winters like you say.

A strong wind can easily reduce perceived temperature by 10 degrees, possibly more in a storm.

I work with a lot of people from Czech Republic/Poland/Latvia/Lithuania and they spend the whole winter bundled up in quilted jackets and wearing gloves inside - constantly saying that Ireland is so cold, despite the fact their own countries are significantly colder.

They are used to being cold and dry, not cold and wet. You can use huge amounts of body heat in evaporating water. Importantly, in winter, we can spend a lot of our days crossing freezing point - it takes a lot more energy to defrost something than to raise temperature by 1 degree.

Mothman

How does the temp & humidity differ here compared to air conditioned environment which is so prevalent in the warmer climates?

Wouldn't this be relatively similar?

ZX7R

My wife is polish and also finds our sun hotter [not summers] and our winters colder,we have come to the conclusion that there seems to be more moisture in the air here and probably also a higher salt content due to the fact that we are surrounded by sea here in Ireland, where as in Poland where she is from the air is much dryer maybe this could be a factor

El Horseboxo

Can't say I've ever thought of the sun being stronger in Ireland. Never heard any family or friends say it either having been there. I'm Mexican and was raised in America but moved to Ireland in my teens. And the sun is definitely stronger in Mexico and the parts of the US I grew up in, in my opinion. I'm in Oklahoma now and was back in Ireland recently. No comparison between how stronger the sun was here in OKC and Dublin. And when I was in Dublin there was a few sunny days.

dahamsta

I was thinking the same thing last week when we had a hot day, sun felt very strong on my skin. Could be just rarity value on my part though.

Apologies for wandering a bit off topic but the talk of humidity made me think to ask: Is it more humid this summer than usual? It feels incredibly humid to me.

20silkcut

Victor wrote: »

You need to take into account a number of factors.

Note that the sun is more likely to be in direct view as opposed to overhead.

I wonder if the frequencies of light getting through are different.

Miss Lockhart wrote: »

I really feel the cold in proper winter countries (nearly died with the biting wind in NYC in December) but I have come across these comments about our winters like you say.

A strong wind can easily reduce perceived temperature by 10 degrees, possibly more in a storm.

I work with a lot of people from Czech Republic/Poland/Latvia/Lithuania and they spend the whole winter bundled up in quilted jackets and wearing gloves inside - constantly saying that Ireland is so cold, despite the fact their own countries are significantly colder.

They are used to being cold and dry, not cold and wet. You can use huge amounts of body heat in evaporating water. Importantly, in winter, we can spend a lot of our days crossing freezing point - it takes a lot more energy to defrost something than to raise temperature by 1 degree.

What do you mean in that last paragraph.

A lot of polish/Czech people say that a damp 7 degrees in an Irish winter is more uncomfortable than a sub zero day in Poland.
Some polish people say they get aches and pains that they attribute to our damp winters. One polish guy commented to me one time that he finds it harder to get out of bed early in the morning in Ireland .
That is one thing about the Irish we are collectively later risers than our European counter parts. Is it due to our climate?
Very little happens in Ireland before 8 or 9 am. On the continent supermarkets cafes etc are in full swing at that stage.

mike65

dahamsta wrote: »

I was thinking the same thing last week when we had a hot day, sun felt very strong on my skin. Could be just rarity value on my part though.

Apologies for wandering a bit off topic but the talk of humidity made me think to ask: Is it more humid this summer than usual? It feels incredibly humid to me.

There is a thread on that very topic lower down the page somewhere (the answer is yes).

Mountainsandh

Su Campu, I don't know... I've been here more than 15 years now I think, and I'm so used to Ireland, I find the heat tough going back to France now.
But you're probably right, I find the heat tough, but not the sun so much, and rarely ever get sunburn, in .France.

Incidentally, I have psoriasis, and of course every time I'm in France it's not so bad, but the few bits of sun here are never enough to help it.

Having said that, when it's sunny out here, I often get that feeling that it's like when it's sunny up high in the Alps, you know, when you go skiing, and the sun is a lot "brighter" and "stingier", if that makes any sense.

I'd tend to think like it has been mentioned that it could have to do with pollution. My hometown of Lyon is very polluted, so much so that every time I went back since I settled in Ireland, I used to get a persistent cough.

The cold is definitely different. It could be 13 degrees here and "feeling" really cold, even without wind, but I remember going to school in -5 or -7 in Lyon, and even though the cold would sting your face, you wouldn't be as shivery.
My family when they come over actually demonstrate what you say : they feel very hot once the sun starts shining, and very cold the rest of the time, that is, most of the time

MizDorry

Miss Lockhart wrote: »

I suffer from Polymorphic Light Eruption, a type of sunlight allergy, and I find it is actually worse in Ireland than in hotter countries. I don't know why, but I agree that whilst I feel greater overall warmth in these countries, I feel a burning direct heat here and the rash comes up quicker. Totally unscientific and I've no idea why.

That's really interesting. I have had the same condition for years, but since I moved to the south of france 2 years ago, I have very little problem with it. Only very occasionally do I get a few spots. It might be that I'm in sunlight virtually all the time here - all year around. Or it might be the pottassium that I supplement with (give it a try).

I've never met anyone else with the same thing before, so hi!

Iancar29

ZX7R wrote: »

My wife is polish and also finds our sun hotter [not summers] and our winters colder,we have come to the conclusion that there seems to be more moisture in the air here and probably also a higher salt content due to the fact that we are surrounded by sea here in Ireland, where as in Poland where she is from the air is much dryer maybe this could be a factor

In terms of cold winters yes the moisture would effect it.

Like when i went to Sweden back in January it got down to 25C one night during the day around -18/-19 ... we were saying it was bearable but also quite similar to being at home in temps just below 0 C all because of the moisture difference. The guide also agreed that when it was 0 C or just below but mainly rain , it was as similar to -18 to - 23 C in dry air.