Cream up before it shows up

The possibility of an Indian summer means that Male Uprising Guernsey’s sun awareness campaign isn’t over yet.

The charity has sponsored large containers of SPF30 suncream to help islanders protect their skin and stay sun aware.

"With the mixed weather we've been having it's easy to get caught out on when you are out and about," says Yvonne Le Page from Guernsey's Health Promotion Unit.

"Your skin can start to burn after about 20 minutes so it's important to remember to still wear suncream even if it's not going to be sunny all day.

"We encourage people to remember to use sun protection when they are out and about, enjoying a meal outside, getting active, doing sport, gardening or doing DIY.

"We would also encourage young people to remember to use suncream when they are on the beach or enjoying watersports."

The handy suncream containers will also remind islanders to reapply suncream to help maintain protection levels throughout the day.

Anyone can help themselves to the suncream that can be found at the Guernsey Surf School, Prince of Wales beer garden, Norman Piette, Gaudions, on the Herm Travel Trident and at the Rockmount in Cobo.

"September certainly looks as though it will probably be much drier and sunnier than August was," says Rob Plummer, Guernsey Weather Fox. 

Mr Plummer said: "The current expectation for September is that winds will be mostly from the east or from the north.

"The easterlies will bring the hotter days, but this air tends to be warm because it is heated from the bottom up whilst over the continent.

"The northerlies will bring much cooler air, so people might be less likely to strip off in general but may still be tempted when they get into the shelter of the south-coast cliffs or a decent walled garden. These are the days when the visibility tends to be excellent and the UV index can climb higher than 5, even in September. What's more, the little fluffy cumulus clouds that are typical of such conditions have a reflective quality, rather like snow-capped mountains, that can actually add to the intensity."

MUG's founder Trevor Kelham said: "Guernsey's weather can be changeable and it's not unusual to leave the house in cloud only for the sun to come out, so it is easy to forget to put sunscreen on and get burnt.

"The free suncream is there for anyone to use and we also hope it will help to reinforce the important sun-safety message."