New Zealanders face a 5.7% chance of developing skin cancer. Although our climate encourages outdoor activities, in summer UV intensities are high due to the overly-thinned ozone layer, clean air, and because the earth is closer to the sun.
The most dramatic ozone losses occur in Antarctica, where spring ozone columns can be less than 90 DU. This ‘ozone hole’ lies well to the south of New Zealand and does not pose a direct health risk. However, when it breaks up, filaments of ozone-poor air can sometimes pass overhead.
Elijah once needed to escape the burning sun, just as he needed to escape the burning anger of Jezebel and find shelter under a small tree. The Holy Land is a land of little shade. People there prized shade and identified it with the presence of God.
in the shade
of a peppertree
I am who I am