I’ve found the UV index forecasts to generally be a good metric, so try looking at those for various locations. The main factor here is that the lower the sun is from the horizon, the more its light will be absorbed by the atmosphere due to the longer path. The maximum altitude that the sun will ever reach is (90° – (latitude – 23.4°)), so at the 60°-ish of Scandinavia it’s rarely more than 50° in the sky. It’s a very noticeable difference even in the summer.
In my experience (born in southern Italy, pale-average, currently living in Sweden) it’s almost impossible for me to get sunburn in daily life in Sweden even without sunscreen. Definitely not so further south.
> it’s almost impossible for me to get sunburn in daily life in Sweden even without sunscreen.
Um most Swedes, even with not-super-pale skin get a sunburn every june. Just being outside in the sunshine for 2-3 hours without any protection and they turn "kräftröd" as they say.
Swedes have an almost comical compulsion to stay in the sun. Growing up in a hot place you get the opposite instinct.
Still, it’s known that your skin color is the main thing that matters, which is why Australians have the worst melanoma statistics. I guess mine tans fast enough to keep up with the seasons here.
