Why do I tan more in the US?

Why do I tan more in the US?

Author: BBC World Service January 30, 2026 Duration: 26:28

CrowdScience listener Namrata and presenter Chhavi Sachdev have something in common. They both get more tanned in the summer in the United States than back home in India. Namrata wants to know why she came back from her run in Boston with such a deep tan and doesn’t have the same experience in India. She’s got quite a few theories herself and wonders if it’s to do with the angle of the sun, pollution or humidity.

Chhavi talks to dermatologist Neelam Vashi, who’s based in Boston, to find out how we tan and what protects us from the sun.

She meets Julian Groebner at the World Radiation Centre in Switzerland who compares the data in India and the United States for CrowdScience and comes up with a surprising answer.

She also talks to Indians in Mumbai who share their attitudes to tanning and what steps they take to protect themselves from the heat of the sun.

Presenter Chhavi Sachdev

Producer Jo Glanville

Editor Ben Motley

(Photo: Woman sunbathing on sun lounger by swimming pool. Credit: IndiaPix/Getty Images)


Curiosity drives discovery, and CrowdScience from the BBC World Service is built entirely on that principle. Each episode begins not with a scripted lesson, but with a question sent in by a listener from anywhere in the world. These aren't simple queries with easy answers; they are the wonderfully complex, often quirky puzzles about everyday phenomena and cosmic mysteries that make us all stop and wonder. What does silence sound like? Could we ever photosynthesize like plants? How does a crowd's mood physically spread? The team then embarks on a genuine investigative journey, tracking down the specialists at the very edge of our understanding-neuroscientists, ecologists, physicists, and engineers-to piece together credible, compelling answers. Listening to this podcast feels like having a direct line to the labs and field sites where knowledge is being created. The conversations are deep yet accessible, transforming abstract concepts into relatable stories. It’s a collective exploration where listener curiosity sets the agenda, making each episode a unique and democratic look at the machinery of our world and beyond. You become part of a global community pondering life, Earth, and the universe, one thoughtful question at a time.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 100

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