Why is white skin more prone to sunburns when whiteness typically is better for reflecting light and not absorbing heat, compared to darkness?
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Skin tone are caused by the presence of melanin pigment with our skin cells. Melanin works by absorbing harmful UV radiation and stopping it from mutating your cells meaning the more melanin in your skin cell the better they were at absorbing UV radiation (a side effect of which leads to darker skin tones). As humans migrated further from the equator, they would become less exposed to direct UV exposure and thus the need for higher levels of melanin became less and less the further away they went (resulting in lighter skin tones over time). Since lighter skin tones are caused by possess lower levels of melanin in skin cells it means there is now less melanin in the cells absorbing UV radiation thus increasing the risk of skin cell damage/mutation through prolonged exposure.
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