It’s amazing to think that we’re already halfway through spring(!) – and rapidly approaching summer, already enjoying longer days and more sun hours after a bit of a damp squib of a winter.

With that in mind, we wanted to know how many of our readers had been out in the sunshine already this season – and whether anyone had maybe seen a little too much…

So we asked if anyone had been burnt yet this spring – highlighting the great work of the Sunsmart NZ team, which you can check out here.

From the results so far, it seems as though most New Zealanders are doing the right thing – slipping, slopping, slapping and wrapping in the sun so far, with around 60% saying they haven’t been burnt thus far.

But a huge 40% have said they have already been surburnt so far this spring – a disappointing result for a country that spends a lot of time and money promoting the “slip slop slap” message.

New Zealand has one of the highest skin cancer death rates in the world.

Don’t forget to treat the spring sun like a summer sun – and slip, slop, slap and wrap!   UV rays are already high in some parts of the country.

Watch this space for our next poll, coming tomorrow morning.

– Drew Chappell, WeatherWatch.co.nz