Windburn is a condition whereby a sunburn obtained in cool or cloudy conditions is incorrectly attributed to the effects of the wind rather than the sun, mostly in North America.[1][2][3][4] The main reason is that in cool or cloudy conditions many people are unaware that they are still vulnerable to the burning effects of the sun's UV radiation, so fail to take precautionary sun protection measures.[1][4]
The fact that windburn was really misattributed sunburn, rather than a distinct condition, was shown as early as 1936 by English skin specialist Charles Howard White of Cambridge and American physicist William Henry Crew of New York University.[5][6] Nonetheless, the accepted existence of windburn remains a widely held misconception.[1][3][7][8][9]
You can get burnt on windy, cloudy and cool days. Sunburn is caused by UV radiation, which is not related to temperature – a cooler or windy day in summer will have a similar UV index to a warmer day. If it's windy and you get a red face, it's likely to be sunburn. There's no such thing as 'windburn'. You can also get sunburnt on cloudy days, as UV radiation can penetrate some clouds, and may even be more intense due to reflection off the bottom of the clouds.
The wind may dry the skin but does not burn it. What is commonly described as windburn is most likely sunburn.
'I got windburnt today.' 'My lips feel windburnt.' It's something we hear from time to time... But what is windburn? And can the wind really burn our skin?... Double-checking with a dermatologist confirms that the term windburn is a misnomer. And that red, sore, dry skin or lips is actually sunburn caused by ultraviolet (UV) radiation.
'Windburn is a misnomer,' says dermatologist Todd Gunson. '... the redness and the tenderness that results from a day out in the sun is almost always due to sunburn.'
...was the first demonstration that 'windburn' is really sunburn
an inflammation of the skin...caused by overexposure to the wind.
Windburn is a condition caused by exposure to strong and frequently cold winds for extended periods of time.
If you like to venture out in the cold weather, you want to protect your skin from windburn. No it's not a Winter sunburn because it's not caused by the sun's harmful rays...it's actually caused by a combination of cold temp0eratures and low humidity.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)