Farm workers harvesting tea. Across Kenya, millions of outdoor workers face the invisible threat of sun-related skin damage. Copyright: Caleb Ishaya (Pexels license)
February 2, 2026
By Nelly Madegwa
For eight years, Sylvia Muteshi has worked the tea plantations in Kakamega, western Kenya, starting at dawn and finishing near noon.
Working long hours under the sun without shade has taken a visible toll on her skin.
“At first, I did not think much about my skin, but over time I have noticed the changes,” she tells SciDev.Net.
“My skin is darker than it used to be and I have also noticed dark patches forming on my cheeks, marks that do not fade. Some of the other women say it’s from the sun—that the light stains our skin after so many years in the field.”
Across Kenya, millions of outdoor workers face this invisible threat.
Joseph Andove, a Nairobi boda boda (motorcycle taxi) rider, has an umbrella mounted on his vehicle. Originally for rain, now it protects him from the scorching sun.
“When it gets too hot, I use it so my skin doesn’t burn,” he says.
Farmers, construction workers, hawkers, and school children spend hours under what has become an increasingly dangerous sky. As climate change drives temperatures higher, our skin pays the price.
Research shows that while darker skin offers protection against sun-related skin cancer, Black Africans still face serious risks that many people don’t know about. When skin cancer does develop in Black people, it usually appears in unexpected places, under fingernails, on the palms of hands, or soles of feet, rather than sun-exposed areas.
Because patients and doctors often don’t expect skin cancer in these locations, it’s frequently caught too late.
Yet for many people with darker skin, the risks of prolonged sun exposure remain poorly understood, often dismissed under the assumption that melanin alone provides full protection.
A warming trend
Patricia Nying’uro, a climate scientist at the Kenya Meteorological Department, says the country’s long-term climate data reveals an unmistakable warming trend.
“Our analysis shows that temperatures across Kenya have risen significantly,” she said. “Some regions, especially the coast and parts of western Kenya, have warmed by up to 2.1 degrees Celsius since record-keeping began.”
The central highlands, she adds, have also warmed, mirroring the global situation. Nying’uro’s team’s recent studies indicate that even though heatwaves have not been fully defined for tropical regions, Kenya is experiencing extended periods of extreme heat.
“One of the months that we found to have the most rise in temperature is the month of March, just before the rainy season,” she says.
“Because we have reduced cloud cover […] this means that more ultraviolet radiation reaches the surface.”
This pre-rainy season heat coincides with peak agricultural activity, when farmers spend the longest hours outdoors—a phenomenon many have come to expect, according to Nying’uro.
She adds: “A lot of the general public treat extreme heat as periodic. They think we can endure February and March because we know it’s going away.
“But this does not take into account that this is increasing yearly.”
Natural defences in question
This warming trend challenges a widespread belief across Kenya and much of Africa: that darker skin provides complete sun protection.
For generations, people across Africa have believed that darker skin offers complete protection from the sun’s harmful effects. “Our grandparents worked outdoors all day and they were fine,” is a familiar refrain.
But Wangai Mwatha, a dermatologist based in Nairobi, says that belief no longer holds true. “The sun today is not the same sun our grandparents experienced,” she explains.
“We have more heat, less cloud cover, and more reflective surfaces. The UV intensity is higher and that makes a big difference.”
Kenya’s position near the equator and its high altitude in many regions exposes people to some of the strongest ultraviolet radiation on earth. Deforestation, urbanisation, and reduced cloud cover have made things worse, leaving outdoor workers far more vulnerable to sun damage.
While darker skin does contain more melanin, which offers some natural UV protection, studies show it does not prevent sun-related problems such as pigmentation disorders, photoaging, non-melanoma skin cancers and sun allergies.
Skin problems on the rise
In her dermatology practice, Mwatha has observed a steady rise in skin conditions linked to climate change and increased sun exposure.
She says: “We’re seeing more cases of photocontact dermatitis, an inflammation of the skin caused by direct exposure to sunlight, and melasma, which leads to dark patches on the face influenced by environmental factors like intense heat and ultraviolet radiation.”
The changing climate, marked by hotter and dustier conditions, is taking a visible toll on people’s skin, according to Mwatha. “A hot, dusty environment leads to a lot of sweating,” she explains.
“Sweat in itself is not the problem, but when it stays on the skin for too long, it becomes a trigger for itching. That itching leads to scratching, and once you start scratching, you enter what we call the itch-scratch cycle.”
She says this cycle is especially problematic for people with sensitive skin or pre-existing conditions such as eczema or atopic dermatitis.
“If a child with eczema or even an adult keeps scratching their skin, it breaks the barrier and worsens the condition,” she explains.
Melanin protection
Dark skin contains more melanin, which does provide some protection, but it’s not foolproof.
Bianca Tod, a dermatologist and clinical trainer at Stellenbosch University in South Africa, explains that melanin provides sun protection, up to an SPF of 13, but says it is important to note that SPF only refers to UVB protection, not UVA.
This means people with darker skin can still suffer from sunburn, premature aging, and pigmentation disorders.
“Skin cancer among people with dark skin is less common, but when it occurs, it’s often diagnosed late and has worse outcomes,” Tod adds.
“That’s not about biology, it’s about awareness, access, and sometimes even stigma.”
Affordable habits
Tod says that sun protection should be seen as a set of everyday habits, not just a cosmetic choice. “Sun safety means layering your defences: hats, sunglasses, protective clothing, avoiding the midday sun, and using sunscreen when possible. Each measure adds protection.”
For millions like Sylvia, however, that protection is a luxury. A small tube of sunscreen in Kenya costs more than a day’s wages for a casual worker. “Sunscreen is out of reach for most people,” Mwatha admits.
“It’s often reserved for people with specific conditions such as albinism or genetic disorders like xeroderma pigmentosum.” Both these conditions increase the skin’s sensitivity to UV light.
Yet there are affordable alternatives. “If sunscreen is not accessible, wide-brimmed hats, long sleeves, and working in the shade can make a big difference,” says Tod. “Even applying sunscreen just on the face and hands helps.”
Mwatha adds that simple oils like petroleum jelly, shea butter, or coconut oil can form a basic barrier and keep skin hydrated.
“They will not block UV rays like sunscreen, but they help maintain the skin’s integrity,” she says. “And tree planting in farms, markets, and schools can restore natural shade—a long-term form of protection that benefits everyone.”
Climate extremes and skin disease
The impacts of climate change on skin go beyond sunlight. Rising heat and humidity are also changing the conditions under which bacterial and fungal diseases thrive.
Pamela Mwange, assistant director of biometeorology at the Kenya Meteorological Department, tells SciDev.Net that temperature and humidity patterns play a key role in skin disease trends. The biological mechanisms linking climate change and skin health are becoming increasingly apparent.
She says: “High temperatures and humidity increase sweating and moisture on the skin, making it very easy for fungi and bacteria to grow. We see more cases of fungal skin infections during hot and humid months.”
Strong UV radiation, she adds, damages skin cells and accelerates aging, while long-term exposure increases the risk of cancers.
Climate change has also led to shifts in rainfall, with some areas becoming more flood-prone and others experiencing prolonged droughts.
“Flooding exposes people to contaminated water, carrying bacteria and parasites that can cause skin infections,” Mwange says.
Meanwhile, droughts not only increase sun duration and consequently sun exposure but also lead to hygiene problems by limiting access to clean water.
“If water is not available for bathing and hygiene, this leads to more skin irritation and infections,” Mwange adds.
“Climate extremes—whether heat, drought, or flooding—all end up affecting the skin.”
Data and research gaps
The meteorologist also points out that Kenya’s monitoring systems still lack crucial data.
She says: “There is very little data on UV radiation levels, which are important for studying sun-related skin damage. We measure temperature, rainfall, humidity, and sunshine duration, but UV data is limited.”
Health records are also incomplete. “Many cases are just recorded as ‘skin infection’ without much detail. Are they related to weather? Are they related to pollution? There’s no classification,” Mwange explains.
“Without comprehensive records, it is difficult to track or predict trends. If we could integrate hospital data with weather trends, we could understand and predict outbreaks more effectively.”
Recognising the health risks accompanying rising temperatures, the Ministry of Health developed the Kenya Climate Change and Health Strategy (2023-2027). The plan aims to build a climate-resilient health system that can adapt to new environmental realities.
“The strategy is designed to guide Kenya in building resilience,” says Mwange. “It focuses on better data collection, improved disease classification, and setting up UV monitoring stations.
“Right now, different sectors are working in isolation. Meteorologists collect weather data, health workers see patients, but the information is not connected. If we can integrate climate and health data, we can protect people more effectively.”
Even as the effects of climate change are written on people’s skin, African populations remain underrepresented in global dermatological research.
“We still have major research gaps,” says Tod. “We know darker skin tones have lower rates of sun-related skin cancers, but we don’t fully understand other impacts like photoaging, eye damage, or pigmentation disorders in tropical climates.”
Late diagnosis, she adds, is shaped less by biology than by structural factors.
“That’s not about biology. It’s about awareness, access, and sometimes even stigma.”
Damage mitigation
Across Kenya, small but impactful initiatives are beginning to take root, which could help mitigate these health risks.
Schools and local authorities are planting trees and building shaded assembly areas to protect pupils from peak-hour sun. In Nairobi, a few county health offices have begun public awareness campaigns reminding residents to avoid direct sunlight between noon and 3 pm, wear hats, and keep skin moisturised.
There are signs of innovation too. A handful of Kenyan skincare startups are experimenting with locally made, mineral-based sunscreens using shea and coconut oils—products that could lower costs and make protection more accessible.
In the tea fields, Sylvia has stopped expecting her old complexion to return. “It’s like the sun has left fingerprints on my skin.” For her and many other outdoor workers like her, adopting habits to mitigate further sun damage is the only option in an ever-warming climate.
This piece was produced by SciDev.Net’s Sub-Saharan Africa English desk.
Nelly Madegwa
Nelly Madegwa is a freelance journalist from Kenya with interest in reporting on climate change, sustainable development and health. Her work blends investigative and human-interest reporting with a data-driven approach to complex science and development issues. She is a Pulitzer Center Persephone Miel Fellow and Oxford Climate Journalism Fellow.
February 2, 2026
By Nelly Madegwa
For eight years, Sylvia Muteshi has worked the tea plantations in Kakamega, western Kenya, starting at dawn and finishing near noon.
Working long hours under the sun without shade has taken a visible toll on her skin.
“At first, I did not think much about my skin, but over time I have noticed the changes,” she tells SciDev.Net.
“My skin is darker than it used to be and I have also noticed dark patches forming on my cheeks, marks that do not fade. Some of the other women say it’s from the sun—that the light stains our skin after so many years in the field.”
Across Kenya, millions of outdoor workers face this invisible threat.
Joseph Andove, a Nairobi boda boda (motorcycle taxi) rider, has an umbrella mounted on his vehicle. Originally for rain, now it protects him from the scorching sun.
“When it gets too hot, I use it so my skin doesn’t burn,” he says.
Farmers, construction workers, hawkers, and school children spend hours under what has become an increasingly dangerous sky. As climate change drives temperatures higher, our skin pays the price.
Research shows that while darker skin offers protection against sun-related skin cancer, Black Africans still face serious risks that many people don’t know about. When skin cancer does develop in Black people, it usually appears in unexpected places, under fingernails, on the palms of hands, or soles of feet, rather than sun-exposed areas.
Because patients and doctors often don’t expect skin cancer in these locations, it’s frequently caught too late.
Yet for many people with darker skin, the risks of prolonged sun exposure remain poorly understood, often dismissed under the assumption that melanin alone provides full protection.
A warming trend
Patricia Nying’uro, a climate scientist at the Kenya Meteorological Department, says the country’s long-term climate data reveals an unmistakable warming trend.
“Our analysis shows that temperatures across Kenya have risen significantly,” she said. “Some regions, especially the coast and parts of western Kenya, have warmed by up to 2.1 degrees Celsius since record-keeping began.”
The central highlands, she adds, have also warmed, mirroring the global situation. Nying’uro’s team’s recent studies indicate that even though heatwaves have not been fully defined for tropical regions, Kenya is experiencing extended periods of extreme heat.
“One of the months that we found to have the most rise in temperature is the month of March, just before the rainy season,” she says.
“Because we have reduced cloud cover […] this means that more ultraviolet radiation reaches the surface.”
This pre-rainy season heat coincides with peak agricultural activity, when farmers spend the longest hours outdoors—a phenomenon many have come to expect, according to Nying’uro.
She adds: “A lot of the general public treat extreme heat as periodic. They think we can endure February and March because we know it’s going away.
“But this does not take into account that this is increasing yearly.”
Natural defences in question
This warming trend challenges a widespread belief across Kenya and much of Africa: that darker skin provides complete sun protection.
For generations, people across Africa have believed that darker skin offers complete protection from the sun’s harmful effects. “Our grandparents worked outdoors all day and they were fine,” is a familiar refrain.
But Wangai Mwatha, a dermatologist based in Nairobi, says that belief no longer holds true. “The sun today is not the same sun our grandparents experienced,” she explains.
“We have more heat, less cloud cover, and more reflective surfaces. The UV intensity is higher and that makes a big difference.”
Kenya’s position near the equator and its high altitude in many regions exposes people to some of the strongest ultraviolet radiation on earth. Deforestation, urbanisation, and reduced cloud cover have made things worse, leaving outdoor workers far more vulnerable to sun damage.
While darker skin does contain more melanin, which offers some natural UV protection, studies show it does not prevent sun-related problems such as pigmentation disorders, photoaging, non-melanoma skin cancers and sun allergies.
Skin problems on the rise
In her dermatology practice, Mwatha has observed a steady rise in skin conditions linked to climate change and increased sun exposure.
She says: “We’re seeing more cases of photocontact dermatitis, an inflammation of the skin caused by direct exposure to sunlight, and melasma, which leads to dark patches on the face influenced by environmental factors like intense heat and ultraviolet radiation.”
The changing climate, marked by hotter and dustier conditions, is taking a visible toll on people’s skin, according to Mwatha. “A hot, dusty environment leads to a lot of sweating,” she explains.
“Sweat in itself is not the problem, but when it stays on the skin for too long, it becomes a trigger for itching. That itching leads to scratching, and once you start scratching, you enter what we call the itch-scratch cycle.”
She says this cycle is especially problematic for people with sensitive skin or pre-existing conditions such as eczema or atopic dermatitis.
“If a child with eczema or even an adult keeps scratching their skin, it breaks the barrier and worsens the condition,” she explains.
Melanin protection
Dark skin contains more melanin, which does provide some protection, but it’s not foolproof.
Bianca Tod, a dermatologist and clinical trainer at Stellenbosch University in South Africa, explains that melanin provides sun protection, up to an SPF of 13, but says it is important to note that SPF only refers to UVB protection, not UVA.
This means people with darker skin can still suffer from sunburn, premature aging, and pigmentation disorders.
“Skin cancer among people with dark skin is less common, but when it occurs, it’s often diagnosed late and has worse outcomes,” Tod adds.
“That’s not about biology, it’s about awareness, access, and sometimes even stigma.”
Affordable habits
Tod says that sun protection should be seen as a set of everyday habits, not just a cosmetic choice. “Sun safety means layering your defences: hats, sunglasses, protective clothing, avoiding the midday sun, and using sunscreen when possible. Each measure adds protection.”
For millions like Sylvia, however, that protection is a luxury. A small tube of sunscreen in Kenya costs more than a day’s wages for a casual worker. “Sunscreen is out of reach for most people,” Mwatha admits.
“It’s often reserved for people with specific conditions such as albinism or genetic disorders like xeroderma pigmentosum.” Both these conditions increase the skin’s sensitivity to UV light.
Yet there are affordable alternatives. “If sunscreen is not accessible, wide-brimmed hats, long sleeves, and working in the shade can make a big difference,” says Tod. “Even applying sunscreen just on the face and hands helps.”
Mwatha adds that simple oils like petroleum jelly, shea butter, or coconut oil can form a basic barrier and keep skin hydrated.
“They will not block UV rays like sunscreen, but they help maintain the skin’s integrity,” she says. “And tree planting in farms, markets, and schools can restore natural shade—a long-term form of protection that benefits everyone.”
Climate extremes and skin disease
The impacts of climate change on skin go beyond sunlight. Rising heat and humidity are also changing the conditions under which bacterial and fungal diseases thrive.
Pamela Mwange, assistant director of biometeorology at the Kenya Meteorological Department, tells SciDev.Net that temperature and humidity patterns play a key role in skin disease trends. The biological mechanisms linking climate change and skin health are becoming increasingly apparent.
She says: “High temperatures and humidity increase sweating and moisture on the skin, making it very easy for fungi and bacteria to grow. We see more cases of fungal skin infections during hot and humid months.”
Strong UV radiation, she adds, damages skin cells and accelerates aging, while long-term exposure increases the risk of cancers.
Climate change has also led to shifts in rainfall, with some areas becoming more flood-prone and others experiencing prolonged droughts.
“Flooding exposes people to contaminated water, carrying bacteria and parasites that can cause skin infections,” Mwange says.
Meanwhile, droughts not only increase sun duration and consequently sun exposure but also lead to hygiene problems by limiting access to clean water.
“If water is not available for bathing and hygiene, this leads to more skin irritation and infections,” Mwange adds.
“Climate extremes—whether heat, drought, or flooding—all end up affecting the skin.”
Data and research gaps
The meteorologist also points out that Kenya’s monitoring systems still lack crucial data.
She says: “There is very little data on UV radiation levels, which are important for studying sun-related skin damage. We measure temperature, rainfall, humidity, and sunshine duration, but UV data is limited.”
Health records are also incomplete. “Many cases are just recorded as ‘skin infection’ without much detail. Are they related to weather? Are they related to pollution? There’s no classification,” Mwange explains.
“Without comprehensive records, it is difficult to track or predict trends. If we could integrate hospital data with weather trends, we could understand and predict outbreaks more effectively.”
Recognising the health risks accompanying rising temperatures, the Ministry of Health developed the Kenya Climate Change and Health Strategy (2023-2027). The plan aims to build a climate-resilient health system that can adapt to new environmental realities.
“The strategy is designed to guide Kenya in building resilience,” says Mwange. “It focuses on better data collection, improved disease classification, and setting up UV monitoring stations.
“Right now, different sectors are working in isolation. Meteorologists collect weather data, health workers see patients, but the information is not connected. If we can integrate climate and health data, we can protect people more effectively.”
Even as the effects of climate change are written on people’s skin, African populations remain underrepresented in global dermatological research.
“We still have major research gaps,” says Tod. “We know darker skin tones have lower rates of sun-related skin cancers, but we don’t fully understand other impacts like photoaging, eye damage, or pigmentation disorders in tropical climates.”
Late diagnosis, she adds, is shaped less by biology than by structural factors.
“That’s not about biology. It’s about awareness, access, and sometimes even stigma.”
Damage mitigation
Across Kenya, small but impactful initiatives are beginning to take root, which could help mitigate these health risks.
Schools and local authorities are planting trees and building shaded assembly areas to protect pupils from peak-hour sun. In Nairobi, a few county health offices have begun public awareness campaigns reminding residents to avoid direct sunlight between noon and 3 pm, wear hats, and keep skin moisturised.
There are signs of innovation too. A handful of Kenyan skincare startups are experimenting with locally made, mineral-based sunscreens using shea and coconut oils—products that could lower costs and make protection more accessible.
In the tea fields, Sylvia has stopped expecting her old complexion to return. “It’s like the sun has left fingerprints on my skin.” For her and many other outdoor workers like her, adopting habits to mitigate further sun damage is the only option in an ever-warming climate.
This piece was produced by SciDev.Net’s Sub-Saharan Africa English desk.
Nelly Madegwa
Nelly Madegwa is a freelance journalist from Kenya with interest in reporting on climate change, sustainable development and health. Her work blends investigative and human-interest reporting with a data-driven approach to complex science and development issues. She is a Pulitzer Center Persephone Miel Fellow and Oxford Climate Journalism Fellow.
Some Tropical Land May Experience Stronger-Than-Expected Warming Under Climate Change
Lina Pérez-Angel (left) and her colleagues are looking at the Funza-II core extracted from Columbia. CREDIT: Maria Fernanda Almanza
February 3, 2026
By Eurasia Review
Some tropical land regions may warm more dramatically than previously predicted, as climate change progresses, according to a new CU Boulder study that looks millions of years into Earth’s past.
Using lake sediments from the Colombian Andes, researchers revealed that when the planet warmed millions of years ago under carbon dioxide levels similar to today’s, tropical land heated up nearly twice as much as the ocean.
The study was published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
“The tropics are home to about 40% of the world’s population, yet we’ve had very little direct evidence of how tropical land temperatures respond to climate change,” said lead author Lina Pérez-Angel, who conducted the study as a doctoral student at CU Boulder’s Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research (INSTAAR) and the Department of Geological Sciences. “If we want to study climate change to help people, we need to pay more attention to the regional changes so those living there know what to expect.”
Climate archive from sediments
About 2.5 to 5 million years ago, giant sloths still roamed Earth. The planet was on average 2.5 to 4 °C (4.5 to 7.2°F) warmer than today, and Greenland was largely ice-free.
This period, known as Pliocene, was the last time Earth had carbon dioxide levels similar to what they are today. As such, it is one of the best analogs for what would happen if Earth’s temperatures continued to rise.
Sediment cores are one of the main tools scientists use to reconstruct Earth’s past climate. As sediments slowly accumulate layer by layer, they trap chemical signals, fossils and minerals that reflect temperature, rainfall and atmospheric conditions at the time they were deposited. By drilling and extracting a column of these sediments, scientists can retrace past climate.
Most of what scientists know about Earth’s ancient temperatures comes from ocean cores. This is because sediments on the seafloor build up slowly and remain largely undisturbed, whereas on land, rapid landscape changes from erosion, landslides, shifting rivers and mountain building often scramble older sediments, making continuous records hard to come by.
In 1988, a team of Dutch and Colombian scientists retrieved an impressive 580-meter (1,902 feet) long sediment core from the Bogotá basin in Colombia. Pérez-Angel grew up in the region, located at nearly 2,550 meters above sea level in the Andes. The lush high-plain basin is home to Colombia’s capital, Bogotá, South America’s second most populous city with about 11 million people.
Formed millions of years ago, the basin has preserved sediment continuously and largely undisturbed since the late Pliocene.
For the study, Pérez-Angel, senior author Julio Sepúlveda, associate professor in the Department of Geological Science, and their team analyzed a type of fat in bacteria preserved in the core. This enabled them to reconstruct a temperature record of the region from the Pliocene to the Pleistocene, or Ice Age.
They found that compared to the Holocene, which is the current epoch, this land region of the tropical Andes was about 3.7 °C (6.6°F) warmer than today, whereas the tropical sea surface was only 1.9 °C (3.4°F) warmer. This means that land temperatures in the tropics changed about 1.6 to nearly 2 times more than the tropical ocean.
Feedback loop
Pérez-Angel, now a senior research associate at Brown University, said that the Pacific Ocean had a nearly permanent El Niño condition during the late Pliocene, which in turn heated up the tropical Andes even more.
Modern El Niño events have already caused significant warming and drought in the northern Andes. The team warned the area could experience additional warming with El Niño potentially happening more frequently due to climate change.
“If you compare the temperature records for the past couple of decades with what climate models predicted a few decades ago, you see that all the real-world data is at the uppermost end of those predictions,” said Sepúlveda, who is also a fellow at INSTAAR. “This is partly because there are so many feedback mechanisms in nature, and crossing certain thresholds could trigger a series of cascading events that amplify changes.”
Overlooked land
The tropics don’t get as much attention as other regions in climate science, Pérez-Angel said, partly because most of the leading institutions studying climate change are located in middle and high latitude areas, like North America and Europe. The tropics are also not warming as fast as colder regions like Greenland or Antarctica.
But in a region where temperatures are already very high, any increase could push it beyond the threshold of what people and wildlife can tolerate.
“When we model climate change, we tend to focus on how temperatures are going to change globally. But people experience climate change at the regional level,” Pérez-Angel said. With only two high-income countries across the entire tropics, many communities have limited resources to adapt to climate change.
“Understanding what the future might look like for people, ecosystems and the land they depend on is very important for building resilience at a regional level,” she said.
February 3, 2026
By Eurasia Review
Some tropical land regions may warm more dramatically than previously predicted, as climate change progresses, according to a new CU Boulder study that looks millions of years into Earth’s past.
Using lake sediments from the Colombian Andes, researchers revealed that when the planet warmed millions of years ago under carbon dioxide levels similar to today’s, tropical land heated up nearly twice as much as the ocean.
The study was published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
“The tropics are home to about 40% of the world’s population, yet we’ve had very little direct evidence of how tropical land temperatures respond to climate change,” said lead author Lina Pérez-Angel, who conducted the study as a doctoral student at CU Boulder’s Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research (INSTAAR) and the Department of Geological Sciences. “If we want to study climate change to help people, we need to pay more attention to the regional changes so those living there know what to expect.”
Climate archive from sediments
About 2.5 to 5 million years ago, giant sloths still roamed Earth. The planet was on average 2.5 to 4 °C (4.5 to 7.2°F) warmer than today, and Greenland was largely ice-free.
This period, known as Pliocene, was the last time Earth had carbon dioxide levels similar to what they are today. As such, it is one of the best analogs for what would happen if Earth’s temperatures continued to rise.
Sediment cores are one of the main tools scientists use to reconstruct Earth’s past climate. As sediments slowly accumulate layer by layer, they trap chemical signals, fossils and minerals that reflect temperature, rainfall and atmospheric conditions at the time they were deposited. By drilling and extracting a column of these sediments, scientists can retrace past climate.
Most of what scientists know about Earth’s ancient temperatures comes from ocean cores. This is because sediments on the seafloor build up slowly and remain largely undisturbed, whereas on land, rapid landscape changes from erosion, landslides, shifting rivers and mountain building often scramble older sediments, making continuous records hard to come by.
In 1988, a team of Dutch and Colombian scientists retrieved an impressive 580-meter (1,902 feet) long sediment core from the Bogotá basin in Colombia. Pérez-Angel grew up in the region, located at nearly 2,550 meters above sea level in the Andes. The lush high-plain basin is home to Colombia’s capital, Bogotá, South America’s second most populous city with about 11 million people.
Formed millions of years ago, the basin has preserved sediment continuously and largely undisturbed since the late Pliocene.
For the study, Pérez-Angel, senior author Julio Sepúlveda, associate professor in the Department of Geological Science, and their team analyzed a type of fat in bacteria preserved in the core. This enabled them to reconstruct a temperature record of the region from the Pliocene to the Pleistocene, or Ice Age.
They found that compared to the Holocene, which is the current epoch, this land region of the tropical Andes was about 3.7 °C (6.6°F) warmer than today, whereas the tropical sea surface was only 1.9 °C (3.4°F) warmer. This means that land temperatures in the tropics changed about 1.6 to nearly 2 times more than the tropical ocean.
Feedback loop
Pérez-Angel, now a senior research associate at Brown University, said that the Pacific Ocean had a nearly permanent El Niño condition during the late Pliocene, which in turn heated up the tropical Andes even more.
Modern El Niño events have already caused significant warming and drought in the northern Andes. The team warned the area could experience additional warming with El Niño potentially happening more frequently due to climate change.
“If you compare the temperature records for the past couple of decades with what climate models predicted a few decades ago, you see that all the real-world data is at the uppermost end of those predictions,” said Sepúlveda, who is also a fellow at INSTAAR. “This is partly because there are so many feedback mechanisms in nature, and crossing certain thresholds could trigger a series of cascading events that amplify changes.”
Overlooked land
The tropics don’t get as much attention as other regions in climate science, Pérez-Angel said, partly because most of the leading institutions studying climate change are located in middle and high latitude areas, like North America and Europe. The tropics are also not warming as fast as colder regions like Greenland or Antarctica.
But in a region where temperatures are already very high, any increase could push it beyond the threshold of what people and wildlife can tolerate.
“When we model climate change, we tend to focus on how temperatures are going to change globally. But people experience climate change at the regional level,” Pérez-Angel said. With only two high-income countries across the entire tropics, many communities have limited resources to adapt to climate change.
“Understanding what the future might look like for people, ecosystems and the land they depend on is very important for building resilience at a regional level,” she said.
How To Communicate Climate Change Without Giving Way To Gloom-Mongering
February 2, 2026
By Eurasia Review
After analysing how the climate crisis is addressed in digital media and on digital platforms, Ángela Alonso-Jurnet, a researcher in the Gureiker group at the University of the Basque Country (EHU), has compiled a list of ten opportunities outlining the most effective strategies employed by the scientific community, members of the public and climate activists.
The climate crisis has become the biggest challenge of the 21st century. The scientific community concurs that global warming is advancing at an unprecedented rate and that institutional and social responses remain insufficient. Ángela Alonso-Jurnet, a researcher in the EHU’s Gureiker group, has analysed how the climate crisis is communicated across various digital media and platforms (TikTok, X, Instagram, digital journalism, etc.), and has identified effective strategies and opportunities to encourage dialogue between the scientific community, the general public and climate action activists. By way of synthesis of her most important findings the researcher is proposing Ten Opportunities for Climate Communication in the Digital Ecosystem, which brings together the most promising key points for driving forward transformative communication.
In an interconnected world overflowing with information, communication is at the heart of the climate response. Digital platforms have opened up a space for unprecedented possibilities, as they enable the spread of scientific knowledge, the building of communities, and the generation of collective narratives that transcend borders. However, this environment also poses significant challenges. Misinformation, polarisation and information fatigue can dilute essential messages, and fuel indifference.
Communicate to transform
On the basis of her study, Dr Alonso highlighted “the importance of communicating solutions and proactive content, while avoiding recourse to doom and gloom. It is very important to discuss the climate crisis not in terms of its consequences, but rather in terms of possible solutions”. The researcher also highlighted the importance of “community building, in other words, ensuring that people who consume this digital content feel that there is a community behind it, through interaction, common themes or the creation of a shared narrative”. Alonso also stressed the need to use “formats that connect with the emotions. The visual and narrative languages of the digital environment promote empathy and the engagement of the general public”.
The approach of a fair eco-social transition is gaining traction among researchers and activists: it proposes a profound reorganisation of the way we inhabit the planet, aimed at guaranteeing decent living conditions within ecological limits. “This transition requires reactivating the capacity of individuals and communities to influence their environment and actively participate in the necessary transformations. In times of climate crisis, regaining a sense of agency is key to countering the fatalism and paralysis that often accompany environmental discourse,” explained Ángela Alonso.
Alonso suggested that “a very important way of approaching this fair eco-social transition is to act on the basis of opportunities. One of the main problems today is that a large proportion of users tend to avoid news about the climate crisis because it makes them feel powerless or that they cannot contribute anything, or that it is too big a problem for their actions to help”.
Community empowerment
In this regard, the researcher supports the validity of communicating ideas relating to lifestyle. “It is a narrative with the power to mobilise and which is very appealing, especially to young members of the public,” she said. In the study conducted on TikTok, “we were pleasantly surprised to see that content offered in the form of the lifestyle narrative, which at first glance may seem superficial, such as ideas for recycling or DIY ideas, actually provoke discussion based on solutions or advice, through comments and interaction among users,” explained the EHU researcher.
“Another thing that surprised us most is that, despite the deeply worrying scenario presented by the climate crisis, the scientific community, despite everything, is always very proactive; very optimistic, even,” said the researcher. All of this prompts one to think that communication about the climate crisis “should not be limited to data alone, but should focus on solutions, by proposing ideas or suggesting actions that have been implemented in different communities, for example, with the aim of empowering the audience and making them feel that they can do their bit”, she concluded.
“Communicating in the digital age requires striking a balance between rigour and emotion, between the urgency of the message and the need for hope,” said the EHU doctor. Today more than ever, communicating climate change is not just about disseminating data; it is about constructing meaning, offering tools for understanding and action, and opening up spaces for dialogue and empathy. Social media, short videos and transmedia content can become powerful allies if used creatively and responsibly.”
February 2, 2026
By Eurasia Review
After analysing how the climate crisis is addressed in digital media and on digital platforms, Ángela Alonso-Jurnet, a researcher in the Gureiker group at the University of the Basque Country (EHU), has compiled a list of ten opportunities outlining the most effective strategies employed by the scientific community, members of the public and climate activists.
The climate crisis has become the biggest challenge of the 21st century. The scientific community concurs that global warming is advancing at an unprecedented rate and that institutional and social responses remain insufficient. Ángela Alonso-Jurnet, a researcher in the EHU’s Gureiker group, has analysed how the climate crisis is communicated across various digital media and platforms (TikTok, X, Instagram, digital journalism, etc.), and has identified effective strategies and opportunities to encourage dialogue between the scientific community, the general public and climate action activists. By way of synthesis of her most important findings the researcher is proposing Ten Opportunities for Climate Communication in the Digital Ecosystem, which brings together the most promising key points for driving forward transformative communication.
In an interconnected world overflowing with information, communication is at the heart of the climate response. Digital platforms have opened up a space for unprecedented possibilities, as they enable the spread of scientific knowledge, the building of communities, and the generation of collective narratives that transcend borders. However, this environment also poses significant challenges. Misinformation, polarisation and information fatigue can dilute essential messages, and fuel indifference.
Communicate to transform
On the basis of her study, Dr Alonso highlighted “the importance of communicating solutions and proactive content, while avoiding recourse to doom and gloom. It is very important to discuss the climate crisis not in terms of its consequences, but rather in terms of possible solutions”. The researcher also highlighted the importance of “community building, in other words, ensuring that people who consume this digital content feel that there is a community behind it, through interaction, common themes or the creation of a shared narrative”. Alonso also stressed the need to use “formats that connect with the emotions. The visual and narrative languages of the digital environment promote empathy and the engagement of the general public”.
The approach of a fair eco-social transition is gaining traction among researchers and activists: it proposes a profound reorganisation of the way we inhabit the planet, aimed at guaranteeing decent living conditions within ecological limits. “This transition requires reactivating the capacity of individuals and communities to influence their environment and actively participate in the necessary transformations. In times of climate crisis, regaining a sense of agency is key to countering the fatalism and paralysis that often accompany environmental discourse,” explained Ángela Alonso.
Alonso suggested that “a very important way of approaching this fair eco-social transition is to act on the basis of opportunities. One of the main problems today is that a large proportion of users tend to avoid news about the climate crisis because it makes them feel powerless or that they cannot contribute anything, or that it is too big a problem for their actions to help”.
Community empowerment
In this regard, the researcher supports the validity of communicating ideas relating to lifestyle. “It is a narrative with the power to mobilise and which is very appealing, especially to young members of the public,” she said. In the study conducted on TikTok, “we were pleasantly surprised to see that content offered in the form of the lifestyle narrative, which at first glance may seem superficial, such as ideas for recycling or DIY ideas, actually provoke discussion based on solutions or advice, through comments and interaction among users,” explained the EHU researcher.
“Another thing that surprised us most is that, despite the deeply worrying scenario presented by the climate crisis, the scientific community, despite everything, is always very proactive; very optimistic, even,” said the researcher. All of this prompts one to think that communication about the climate crisis “should not be limited to data alone, but should focus on solutions, by proposing ideas or suggesting actions that have been implemented in different communities, for example, with the aim of empowering the audience and making them feel that they can do their bit”, she concluded.
“Communicating in the digital age requires striking a balance between rigour and emotion, between the urgency of the message and the need for hope,” said the EHU doctor. Today more than ever, communicating climate change is not just about disseminating data; it is about constructing meaning, offering tools for understanding and action, and opening up spaces for dialogue and empathy. Social media, short videos and transmedia content can become powerful allies if used creatively and responsibly.”
