Lichens often grow in exposed habitats where they are subjected to multiple abiotic stresses in particular desiccation, high light and temperature extremes. When lichen photobionts absorb more light than they can use for photosynthesis, excess light energy can be dissipated as heat using non-photochemical quenching (NPQ). Light stress may be more harmful at lower temperatures, because while the amount of light absorbed by lichens may not change, rates of C fixation will be lower, and therefore there will be less demand for ATP and NADPH. These conditions can promote reactive oxygen species (ROS) formation. Furthermore, any stress that damages the photosynthetic apparatus will increase the risk of ROS formation, even under moderate light. The short-term effects of a combination of chilling and light stresses on NPQ in lichens have not been tested. We used chlorophyll fluorescence to study the effect on NPQ of a combination of moderate light stress (6 h at 100 μmol m–2 s–1) and chilling to 5 °C in five lichens from the Afromontane region of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Here we show that, while not photoinhibited, most species display increases in NPQ in response to light, and for some species the increases are greater at 5 °C than at 20 °C. The increases in NPQ appear to derive from xanthophyll-cycle based quenching. While general increases in NPQ are a common response to moderate light stress in lichens, when combined with a chilling stress additional xanthophyll-cycle based NPQ can be induced. Keywords: Lichens; Stress; Chilling; High light; Chlorophyll fluorescence; Non-photochemical quenching.