Evaluation of the cloudy sky solar UVA radiation exposures

The influence of cloud on the solar UVA (320–400 nm) exposures over five minute periods on a horizontal plane has been investigated. The first approach used cloud modification factors that were evaluated using the influence of clouds on the global solar exposures (310–2800 nm) and a model developed to apply these to the clear sky UVA exposures to allow calculation of the five minute UVA exposures for any cloud conditions. The second approach established a relationship between the UVA and the global solar exposures. The models were developed using the first six months of data in 2012 for SZA less than or equal to 70° and were applied and evaluated for the exposures in the second half of 2012. This comparison of the modelled exposures for all cloud conditions to the measured data provided an R2 of 0.8 for the cloud modification model, compared to an R2 of 0.7 for the UVA/global model. The cloud modification model provided 73% of the five minute exposures within 20% of the measured UVA exposures. This was improved to 89% of the exposures within 20% of the measured UVA exposures for the cases of cloud with the sun not obscured.