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Researchers at Nord University in Bodø have easily explained how people got sick this spring in the 20 countries hardest hit by the corona, with the weather in the same countries.
Studies have previously established that common cold viruses spread more easily in cool weather and dry air, as is often the case in winter.
Coronavirus is very similar to cold viruses in size and shape. So it seems likely that this virus spreads more easily in fall and winter as well.
Weather patterns examined
– We made a model where we tried to find meteorological patterns in the spread of the coronavirus, Samuel Asumadu Sarkodie tells forskning.no.
– This is how we obtained a clear confirmation that higher temperatures reduce the spread of infection.
– If the temperature drops to around 0 point, the spread of infection increases and the number of people affected by covid-19 increases.
Sarcodie and his research colleague Phebe Asantewaa Owusu believe this may help explain why the coronavirus is so widespread in sub-Saharan Africa.
South Africa is an exception. More than 700,000 people have been infected here. But the infection peaked in June, when it was winter in South Africa.
Samuel Asumadu Sarkodie and Phebe Asantewaa Owusu are researchers at Nord University in Bodø. Photo: Private
Wind and humidity also affect
– We also found connections between wind and corona propagation, Sarkodie tells forskning.no.
– More wind increases the spread of the virus. One possible connection is that the wind helps the virus to pass more easily from one person to another.
Another connection researchers see is that with high relative humidity, the spread of the virus is reduced. If, on the other hand, the air is dry, as it happens more often in winter, the virus develops better.
Sarkodie and Owusu are economists and have used subject matter models to gather health data and meteorological data. The study appears in the latest issue of the journal Environmental Research.
Perfect refrigerator temperature for the virus.
- Laboratory experiments have also shown that the SARS coronavirus does not thrive in high temperature and high humidity.
- However, at normal room temperature, the virus can survive for several days. If you put the coronavirus in a refrigerator at 4 ℃ and it dries, it can last a whole month.
- There have been several reports of widespread outbreaks of coronary heart disease among slaughterhouse employees. Here employees work in those temperatures.
Kilde: Lisa M. Casanova m.fl: “Effects of air temperature and relative humidity on the survival of coronavirus on surfaces”, Applied and Environmental Microbiology, 2010
The researchers used corona data from John Hopkins University in the US and compared it to global meteorological data from NASA. The study is carried out from January to April of this year and includes a total of 1940 cases of infection in 20 countries.
The infected people were kept at temperatures ranging from -42 ° С in Russia to +35.5 ° С in India. Also the average temperatures varied a lot. The same happened with the wind and other climatic conditions in the different countries.
Most of the rainfall occurred in the crown-affected Peru in South America.
Infectious diseases spread in winter.
Previously, several studies have found connections between climatic conditions and the spread of infectious diseases.
In Norway and other countries in the Northern Hemisphere, flu and the common cold are more widespread in winter than in summer.
This may be due to lower temperatures. But another contributing factor is undoubtedly that people in winter stay more indoors.
Various international studies
The connection between the new coronavirus and weather conditions has also been investigated by other researchers.
A study conducted in Bangladesh finds, like the Nord University study, that there is a clear connection between lower temperatures and greater spread of the corona.
A collective study conducted by researchers at the University of Pará in Belem, Brazil, has brought together the results of a total of 17 studies in various countries, all of which have analyzed climatic conditions and the spread of the coronavirus. The researchers conclude that the results are fairly consistent in demonstrating a link between cold weather and the spread of the virus.
At the same time, Brazilian researchers conclude that weather conditions are not the most important explanation behind the spread of the virus. They claim that infection control measures or the lack of infection control measures implemented by health authorities are more important.
References and sources:
Asumadu Sarkodie Phebe og Asantewaa Owusu: “Impact of meteorological factors in the COVID-19 pandemic: evidence from the top 20 countries with confirmed cases”, Environmental Research, December 2020. Artikkelen.
Abu Reza Md. Towfiqul Islam m.fl: “Effect of weather factors on COVID-19 cases in Bangladesh”, Environment, Development and Sustainability, 8. October 2020.
Paulo Mecenas m. fl: “Effects of Temperature and Humidity on the Spread of COVID-19: A Systematic Review”, Plos One, September 18, 2020.
Sara Pith: «Does the coronavirus spread more easily in cold temperatures? Here’s what we know, ”The Conversation, October 29, 2020.
The article was first published by forskning.no.
