ELI5; Why is dark skin selected for when you’re in the sun a lot? Dark colors absorbs most visible light, while white reflects it. Is it different for UV light?
In: Biology
Because the upper layer of skin is dead anyway. That dead layer of skin absorbs a lot more of the radiation from the Sun than it would if it was lightly colored, which helps protect the skin beneath it. This is white dark skin people don’t get sunburn nearly as easily as fair-skinned people.
Darker-skinned people do technically absorb more heat from the Sun than lighter skin people, but compared to the amount of heat that the body is producing naturally through its own metabolic actions this difference is negligible.
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