Uploaded June 2025 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
As climate change becomes more intense across our country, it’s important to protect your eyes from increased heat, pollen and UV radiation. It’s not just a challenge faced by agricultural or construction workers, but anyone who ventures outside, even on a cloudy day, said UW Medicine ophthalmologist Dr. Andrew Chen.
“Increased UV rays can have a variety of effects on the eyes. Starting from the outside in, you get an effect similar to sunburns on the surface of the eye called keratitis, and that's where UV rays can damage the epithelial cells on the surface of the cornea, leading to eye pain, redness, irritation, blurry vision, very similar to a sunburn effect on your skin,” said Chen, an assistant professor of ophthalmology at the University of Washington School of Medicine. “But in addition to that, deeper inside the eye, you can have an acceleration of cataract formation and cataracts are the leading cause of reversible blindness worldwide.”
Chen recommends first, be aware that you need to protect your eyes.
Chen suggests having some form of UV protection with sunglasses or even finding shade, covering with clothing like a hat, or staying under an outdoor shelter.
As climate change becomes more intense across our country, it’s important to protect your eyes from increased heat, pollen and UV radiation. It’s not just a challenge faced by agricultural or construction workers, but anyone who ventures outside, even on a cloudy day, said UW Medicine ophthalmologist Dr. Andrew Chen.
“Increased UV rays can have a variety of effects on the eyes. Starting from the outside in, you get an effect similar to sunburns on the surface of the eye called keratitis, and that's where UV rays can damage the epithelial cells on the surface of the cornea, leading to eye pain, redness, irritation, blurry vision, very similar to a sunburn effect on your skin,” said Chen, an assistant professor of ophthalmology at the University of Washington School of Medicine. “But in addition to that, deeper inside the eye, you can have an acceleration of cataract formation and cataracts are the leading cause of reversible blindness worldwide.”
Chen recommends first, be aware that you need to protect your eyes.
Chen suggests having some form of UV protection with sunglasses or even finding shade, covering with clothing like a hat, or staying under an outdoor shelter.
