SunSmart Global App
Published: 18 August 2022
The Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency, Cancer Council Victoria and the Australian Bureau of Meteorology have teamed up to create an international UV measurement app which was released in June 2022.
The SunSmart Global UV app aims to reduce the number of people across the world developing skin cancer and experiencing UV-related eye damage.
Research in 2019 estimates around 6.7 million cases of skin cancers were diagnosed globally, and more than 118 thousand people around the world lost their lives to skin cancer in the same year.
Evidence shows that personal habits in relation to sun exposure, including sunscreen use, clothing choice and time spent outdoors, are the most important individual risk factors for UV radiation damage.
To encourage world-wide adoption of sun protection, Cancer Council Victoria developed the SunSmart Global UV app in partnership with Deakin University’s Applied Artificial Intelligence Institute (A2I2) using ARPANSA’s real-time data and a unique weather data algorithm to create UV forecasts for anywhere in the world.
We know in Australia how valuable it is to provide accurate UV levels to people based on their geographical location. The new SunSmart Global UV App means the knowledge we have gained in Australia can now be shared internationally to a much wider audience,” said Dr Rick Tinker, Chief Radiation Health Scientist for ARPANSA.
Cancer Council Victoria CEO Todd Harper said it was inspiring to work with Australian partners to bring together this world-class innovation that will be used across the world.
“Cancer Council Victoria has a long history of being at the forefront of innovative programs that protect our community from cancer,” Mr Harper said.
“As Australia has one of the highest rates of skin cancer in the world, we fully appreciate the significant burden of skin cancer on people’s lives. Fortunately, through our world leading SunSmart program, we’ve learnt a lot about how to improve sun protection behaviours at a population level and so it’s exciting to share that knowledge globally,” Mr Harper said.
An Australian Bureau of Meteorology spokesperson said that it was really pleasing to see that the knowledge they have gained over many years presenting weather and UV forecasts through phone apps can now be used to influence sun protection behaviours globally.
“For the SunSmart Global UV app, it will provide the times of day based on your location when sun protection is recommended as well as when sun protection may not be necessary,” said the BOM spokesperson.
“It is terrific to see Australian ingenuity being applied to create an app that anyone in the world can freely access. We expect that the app will not only influence sun protection behaviour, but more importantly, help drive down skin cancer rates globally.”
ARPANSA’s Dr Tinker said “It is important that Australians keep up their good sun protection practices even when overseas.”
Undertaking research and supporting public understanding of risk is a core part of ARPANSA’s role in protecting Australians from the harmful effects of UV radiation.
The SunSmart Global UV app is available free of charge at the Apple and Google Play stores.
Last reviewed: September 2022