WEATHER

June and September normally see average daily temperatures of 20-22ºC, while July and August are the hottest months with average daily temperatures of around 24-28ºC. Bare in mind however, that average daily temperatures include the evening temperatures, which are cooler than the daytime, and temperatures between 12 noon and 4pm during July and August often reach the mid-30´s.

The vast majority of holidaymakers who visit the resorts want to go home with a healthy tan, and enjoy some quality beach time into the bargain. Most northern Europeans come from chillier climates where the sun hardly ever peeks through the clouds, so Magaluf beaches in summer are always full of white, sun-starved bodies, vainly trying to achieve a golden tan before they fly home.

Society holds beauty in high regard, and the better the sun tan, the more attractive we look and feel. In order to achieve an all-over golden tan, we need to expose our pale-skinned bodies to ultraviolet light, more commonly known as the sun. Over-exposure leads to sunburn, which is not only painful, but causes the skin to age prematurely.

Preventing sunburn is easy if you take some simple precautions, but hundreds of holidaymakers every year in Kos, think they know best and roast their pale bodies in temperatures of up to 35º in summer without using any sunscreen or protection. This can and does result in mild sunburn at best and a trip to the emergency department at worse. Holidaymakers have been known to suffer third degree burns after falling asleep on the beach, which is a common occurrence if you plan to spend all night clubbing.

If you are planning a family holiday to any of the resorts during the summer, make sure you have high protection sunscreen for the kids, and sun hats. Don´t be fooled by a breeze on the beach, as you can still get badly burnt by the sun, which is at its hottest around midday.

People with fair, white or freckled skin should use sunscreen with a Sun Protection Factor of 30, and if you are worried about going home whiter than when you arrived, lessen the protection factor slightly after every three or four days. Another popular misconception among holidaymakers is that the clouds prevent the sun from causing damage. Wrong. Clouds actually allow a lot of UV rays to pass through, which can still cause plenty of harm to the skin, so cover up when it´s hot, even when you can´t see the sun.

Never forsake your health for a deep golden tan, or you could end up spending half of your holiday in hospital. Apart from sunburn being extremely painful, severe sunburn can be much more serious and it can invade the deeper layers of skin.

While sunburn and the appearance of ageing are two complications of sun exposure, it is also important to understand that there are many benefits that you can gain from the light that the sun emits. One of the main benefits is that the sun allows a person to acquire a large amount of vitamin D. In addition to this, it plays a large role in ensuring that the melatonin levels in the body are properly regulated. Melatonin is a chemical that is produced in small amounts during the daylight hours and larger amounts in the darker hours in order to encourage sleep. If you want to safely reap the benefits of sun exposure in Kos without worrying about the dangers of sunburn, take your time and only expose your body to the sun when it is properly protected.