National Geographic Magazine

Amazing discoveries and experiences await you in every issue of National Geographic magazine. The latest news in science, exploration, and culture will open your eyes to the world’s many wonders.

One Nation, Under Heat and Shade

HOW HAIR PROCLAIMS CULTURE • LOOKING AT THE EARTH FROM EVERY POSSIBLE ANGLE

THE BACKSTORY • PHOTOGRAPHERS CELEBRATE THE CULTURE AND HISTORY WOVEN INTO NIGERIA’S COM PLEX HAIRSTYLES.

‘Honoring’ Health Care’s Bad Actors • THIS GROUP PRESENTS AWARDS FOR PRICE GOUGING, ETHICAL LAPSES, WASTEFUL PRACTICES, DYSFUNCTION — AND WISHES IT DIDN’T HAVE TO.

‘And the Shkreli Award Goes To…’

DISPATCHES FROM THE FRONT LINES OF SCIENCE AND INNOVATION

Deep down, sharks glow in the dark

SEEDLINGS NEEDED TO HIT 2030 GOAL

AIMING HIGH • In the Austrian Alps, climbers seek mountain highs and ascend the ‘Stairway to Heaven.’

VIRAL SPILLOVER

CONNECTED, INFECTED • Spillover risk is highest in abundant, domesticated animals or in common wildlife species that have adapted to human environments. This research was conducted before the COVID-19 pandemic, but experts suspect that SARS-CoV-2 originated in an animal before jumping to humans. All the zoonotic viruses below have caused at least one outbreak among humans. Outbreaks are often underreported.

PLANET POSSIBLE • Enjoying the outdoors shouldn’t imperil the Earth. Give Mother Nature a summer break with easyon-the-environment ideas.

CHANGES IN CHINATOWN • ROOTED IN BOTH RACISM AND MARKETING, THESE HISTORIC ENCLAVES GRAPPLE WITH UNCERTAIN FUTURES.

Unexpected Twists • THEY SET OUT TO TRACK GREAT WHITE SHARKS. BUT WHEN THE TABLES WERE TURNED, A PHOTOGRAPHER’S SURPRISING PICTURE INSPIRED DIGITAL FAKES—AND REAL AWARENESS.

FEATURES

TOO HOT TO LIVE • Rising heat in the 21st century is likely to push millions of people and entire regions out of their comfort zones.

THE HIGH PRICE OF HEAT • Rising heat will kill more people by 2050, but people will also adapt. Researchers at the Climate Impact Lab projected future “mortality costs,” reflecting both the economic value of lives lost and the expense of adaptations such as air-conditioning. Geography, age distribution, and income all affect the projections. Many rich, colder cities will see net benefits. But most of the world’s population, in hot cities without the means to adapt, will see “costs”—and deaths—rise.

HOW THE BODY HANDLES HEAT • Maintaining a constant internal temperature of about 98.6°F is a balancing act. Muscles and organs generate heat that is shed through the skin. But the body also absorbs heat from the environment. A warming climate is exposing almost a third of the world’s population to potentially deadly heat.

A SHADY DIVIDE • In sunny Los Angeles, a lack of tree cover in low-income areas has left many residents especially vulnerable to rising heat. It’s a legacy of the city’s design—and its history of racist policies.

HOW DISCRIMINATION SHAPED LOS ANGELES

L.A.’S TREE CANOPY REFLECTS URBAN INEQUITY

AN URBAN CANOPY CAN HELP COOL A CITY

BUT SHADE CAN BE HARD TO FIND IN MUCH OF L.A.

THE WORLD’S HIGHEST GOLD RUSH • IN THE PERUVIAN ANDES, DESPERATION FUELS A DANGEROUS, TOXIC HUNT FOR THE PRECIOUS METAL.

THIN AIR, DANGEROUS TERRAIN

Conservation That Lasts • Without fenced-off reserves, can wildlife and nearby communities both thrive? In northern Kenya, the pandemic put the idea to the test.

Resilient conservation

THE PRICELESS FOSSILS IN THE GARBAGE DUMP • As a landfill expands in Spain, paleontologists are uncovering many ancient species, including some that were the precursors to apes—and us.

BURIED IN HISTORY

TREVOR BECK FROST • FROM OUR PHOTOGRAPHERS