What are the places and/or times with the biggest disparities between UV levels and temperature? (snow, warm)

[Nichle]

When going for a walk on a cool but sunny late spring morning recently, it occurred to me that it was probably just about the worst time of day and worst time of the year in my location if I wanted to be warm but not exposed to too much UV. I was on the wrong side of both seasonal and diurnal temperature lags.

What are the overall extremes of this in the world? High altitudes have both lower temperatures and higher UV, so something like the summit of Everest is probably the worst overall. What are the best? I'm guessing Gulf Stream influenced places in coastal Europe on autumn afternoons? (Or winter, I guess, but temperatures are cool and UV levels far too low to worry about).

What locations have high temperature disparities for equivalent levels of UV over the course of the year? Presumably high-altitude continental places like Denver? The UV levels for Denver a few hours before solar noon on the spring equinox are the same as they are a few hours after solar noon on the autumn equinox, but the former will usually be cold and the latter usually warm.

What about all-time records? When have there been rather high temperatures with relatively low UV, or rather low temperatures with high UV (controlling for altitude)?

[nei]

coastal California in June; daily high on the central California coast in June is barely above 60°F but latitude is about the same as Death Valley (36°N, so peak solar noon angle of about 77°). More extreme combinations with elevations.

[Nichle]

Originally Posted by nei

coastal California in June; daily high on the central California coast in June is barely above 60°F but latitude is about the same as Death Valley (36°N, so peak solar noon angle of about 77°). More extreme combinations with elevations.

Death Valley (and other California desert areas) at about this time of year (i.e. early December) are also pretty good candidates for warmth with low UV. Death Valley has November highs of 25C, December 18.5C, while Palm Desert has 26.5C Nov/21.5 December. Also, they have December record highs in the 30s (Death Valley 32C, Palm Desert 34C).

Bermuda at this time of year is another good candidate. 32 degrees north, but warmed by the Gulf Stream. 24C November highs, 21.5C December. It'll also be quite warm even when cloudy (which it is more likely to be than the deserts). However, the record highs aren't much more than the averages.

[Nichle]

Some of the unusually-cold-for-their-latitude places in Eastern Canada are up there on the "bad" trade-off. St John's, NL at 47°N is 6C/-2C in April, 11C/2C in May, and 16C/6C in June. (However, it's pretty cloudy).

However, in Western Canada's late-summer-to-fall, you can get pretty good cases of the flip-side. Osoyoos, BC at 49°N has August highs of 31C and September highs of 26C, with record highs of 42C and 38C respectively.

[alex985]

I think a lot of places with coastal/marine influence that get a seasonal delay in spring could qualify for the biggest discrepancy between UV and temperature.



Good point bringing up Eastern Canada, they got some very cold springs for their latitude. Inukjuak at 58 N has an average high of -7 C in April, with the same sun angle we get here in December lol.

[Baba_Wethu]

I'd say inland Greenland and Antarctica. Greenland gets frigid means with 6+ UVI with snow all around and a slow sun arc (sun stays up for a long time).

Also Antarctica with -30C means in December but Ozone hole, barely any sun arcing and snow.

These are atleast some "honorable mentions" because of their latitude.

[Saritra]

Equatorial mountaintops. Thin air lets more UV through, and usually cold. Probably somewhere in Peru or Bolivia.