Do dark people get hotter quicker?

Question

Like does their skin retain heat?

Answer 1

no dark people do not get hotter quickly

Answer 2

I actually don't think so. I can get why you'd think that but considering people got darker because of the climate they lived in and the amount of sun they got, wouldn't evolution have made people in africa or south america get lighter skin to survive the heat more?

Answer 3

Actually, darker skinned people are darker skinned because melanin, the main pigment of the skin, helps protect us from the UV radiation in sun light which causes sun burn.  This is why people with very light skin, like Scandinavians and Northern Canadians get sun burned quickly and won't tan, while Africans don't get sun burned at all.  People from farther north naturally have less melanin than people closer to the equator, where the sun hits them directly. This advantage far outweighs the increased heat absorption with darker skin color, because you could always find ways to cool off but avoiding sunlight all together is a lot harder.

In fact, a tan is simply the body trying to fight off UV radiation and skin cancer by increasing the melanin level of the body.

*Edited for added info.

Answer 4

ya, my boyfriend is very dark and he hates being outside the sun makes him very hot and gives him headaches if he does go outside he wears a long white t-shirt and a hat

Answer 5

Wow. Totally UN-racist way of asking THAT question.

You are totally NOT an ignorant asshat

Answer 6

I've always wondered about this. It goes against natural selection it seems. Why are people from the hottest places darker when dark colors absorb the sunlight? You'd think they'd be bright white instead (of course, you'd think that Northern Europeans, etc. would be black too). But, it works just the opposite. I have noticed that black people seem to dislike the heat more than brown people though...idk...wierd. I'm pasty white and I can't stand it when it hits about 85-88 though, so who am I to say anything? It has to do with the skin being darker due to more melanin in the skin which is needed in areas with more sunlight to protect from the harmful effects of the sun...so, it has to do more with the extra sunlight than it does with heat. I guess you just can't have it both ways...haha...either you're hot or else you die of skin cancer. Good question though.