The number of red-haired inhabitants of the planet may decrease

Saturated red hair color is extremely rare and occurs only in 2% of the world's population. But scientists predict that by the end of this century, red-haired people may not remain on the planet at all, since carriers of this unique hair color are born less and less every year. Why is this happening?

According to scientists, red hair color arose as an adaptation of a person to specific habitats. It is no secret that the highest percentage of redheads is found in Scotland and Ireland, as well as in Scandinavia. It is here that cloudy weather prevails with constant fog and a small number of sunny days. Red hair color and very fair skin are the best suited for such a climate, because it is such skin that is capable of producing the maximum amount of vitamin D even in cloudy weather. But it tolerates bright sunlight worse, so the red-haired woman under the scorching southern sun is the worst, and prolonged exposure to the sun can cause skin diseases.

Red hair color in any of its manifestations (with a light brown tint or bright copper color) is due to the presence of a gene called melanocortin-1 receptor (MC1R). For example, in Scotland, about half of the population is the carrier of this gene, but about 13% of red-haired people in this country. This is due to the fact that this gene is recessive and appears only if both parents were red-haired and were carriers of the gene.

But scientists from the UK argue that by the end of the century, red-haired people could be significantly smaller. The fact is that climate change leads to the fact that in the north-west of Europe there are more sunny days and higher air temperatures. Researchers believe that such environmental changes should soon affect the number of red-haired people - they should be less. But a number of experts believe that this is a very dubious statement. In order for genetic mechanisms and responses to be included in the work, much more time must pass than a hundred or even two hundred years. For this reason, it is worth considering that unusually beautiful people with fiery red hair color will not disappear very soon, but for now they will continue to live in the vastness of Ireland and Scotland.