Anna,

Never stayed under water that long to find out ..... Seriously, I would put my mortgage on them being wrong. In my experience though if you are in the pool alot remember your shoulders are usually exposed and are wet so are more likely to catch the sun. Being in the pool you are cooler so may be unaware you are getting too much sun on the exposed parts. Have a great time.

Wilson

Being in or surrounded by water makes it more likely you will burn due to the suns rays being reflected off the water..I found this out the hard way.

lola is correct. The water merely deflects the rays in a slightly more crazy way rather than making them less powerful. If you don't believe us try a little googling for science sites.

Why do you think they make waterproof sun lotion?

And if you think you cannot burn when it's cloudy, think again and ask anyone who has visited the Atlantic coast of Africa on a misty day and taken no precautions.

I read somewhere you burn in 1 metre of water,also a white cotton tea shirt only gives a sun protection factor of 15.

but remeber, when a white t shirt becomes wet, it becomes a little transparant, making you burn more.

i have always put my kids a dark t shirt on in the pool and a white one for walking around in.

Truth!

http://www.hko.gov.hk/education/edu06nature/ele_spf_e.htm#q7

Pippy

I can't say I've ever burned while diving, but I'm sure if you stay in shallow water long enough without some kind of protection (wet suit etc), it is possible. My longest shallow dive was around 2 hour in water no deeper than 10m, but the average depth was probably 3 - 5m. I didn't notice any difference, but UV light with its short wavelength is at the end of the spectrum that penetrates water the furthest. If my memory serves me correct (I'm getting older so its probably not!), UVA with a wavelength of around 270 nm can penetrate to 300m. The chance of getting burnt in water is reduced, but its certainly still possible. I've burnt many times while snorkelling and while on dive boats between dives (UV reflection made worse by dry skin) but thats a different story!

Darren

Yes. I speak from experience!

Yes it's true, also bear in mind that your skin will feel a lot cooler by virtue of being in the pool or sea so do be aware that you can get burnt without realising it.

Oh yes you can burn in water - I did myself many years ago - spent the entire day in the pool and came out and I was as red as any lobster I've ever seen - flaming hurt as well.

The only time since childhood I've been sun-burnt was in Los Angeles in the pool wearing a t-shirt and I couldn't even see any sun because of the amount of pollution between the sky and me.

I must admit that I hadn't re-applied any protection for some time due mainly to the obvious lack of sun and the fact I had put on the t-shirt because of a cool breeze. I was lobster coloured by the evening and very sore.

Never again, a lesson learnt the hard way.

Came back from a diving holiday last year with a VERY distinct line showing exactly where my shortie wetsuit started and finished - daftest looking sun tan I've ever had.
Hardly had the suit on on the surface so we put it down to sunlight through water as we were diving unusually shallow dives with our daughter in tow!! Just goes to show how penetrating equatorial sun can be at an average dive depth of around 8m...............