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strong temperature and tropical climates may really help cut down the spreading of COVID-9 , a novel study hint .
The study base that places with warm temperatures and retentive hour of sunshine — such as countries tight to the equator and those experiencing summer — had a low rate of COVID-19 cases , compare with countries farther away from the equator and those experiencing colder weather .
The findings held even after the researchers drive into account other factors that could affect both the bed covering of COVID-19 and the number of reported cases , such as a country ’s level of urbanisation and the vividness of COVID-19 testing .
Still , the authors stress that their determination do n’t mean that summertime weather will carry off COVID-19 ; but it may give people a leg up against the disease .
" Our results do not imply that the disease will disappear during summer or will not affect countries faithful to the equator , " the authors wrote in their paper , published April 27 in the journalScientific Reports . " Rather , the higher temperature and more intense UV [ ultraviolet ] radiation therapy in summertime are likely to support public health criterion to moderate SARS - CoV-2 , " the novel coronavirus causing COVID-19 .
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Seasonal virus
briefly after the COVID-19pandemicbegan in the wintertime of 2020 , there was speculation that summertime temperatures may bring relief from COVID-19 . Indeed , many respiratory virus , includingflu virus , show a seasonal practice , peaking during the winterand dipping during the summer .
Scientists do n’t know for sure why these virus come after a seasonal pattern , but a number of factor are thought to play a function . For example , studies suggest that many respiratory viruses are more static and linger in the air longer in environs with cold temperatures and low humidity , Live Science previously cover . Human behaviors , such as gathering indoors in winter , could also hike transmission .
Studies in lab dishes have also observe that high temperature and humidness bring down the survival of the fittest of SARS - CoV-2 , but whether this translates to material - existence transmission was unclear .
In the unexampled study , the researchers analyzed data from 117 countries , using information on the spread of COVID-19 from the kickoff of the pandemic to Jan. 9 , 2021 . They used statistical methods to examine the relationship between a country ’s latitude — which affect the amount of sunlight it receives as well as temperature and humidity — and its level of COVID-19 spread . They also used information from the World Health Organization to moderate for factors that could affect how strong a country is stumble by COVID-19 , such as tune travel , health maintenance consumption , the proportion of older adults to younger citizenry and economical development .
They found that every 1 degree increase in a country ’s line of latitude from the equator was tied to a 4.3 % increment in the number of COVID-19 cases per million the great unwashed . This means that if one commonwealth is 620 Admiralty mile ( 1,000 kilometers ) nigher to the equator compared with another , the nation closer to the equator could expect to have 33 % few COVID-19 cases per million mass , with all other factors being equal between the countries .
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" Our result are consistent with the hypothesis that heat and sun reduce the spreading of
SARS - CoV-2 and the prevalence of COVID-19 , " according to the authors , from the Heidelberg Institute of Global Health in Germany and the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences in Beijing . The determination also signify that " the threat of epidemic revivification may increase during wintertime , " as was seen in many area in the Northern Hemisphere in December 2020 and January 2021 , they say .
The generator note that their study only include datum up until Jan. 9 , 2021 , before a figure of COVID-19 variant , including variants that first emerged in South Africa and the U.K. , took off around the world , so it ’s unclear whether these form will show standardized patterns of seasonal infection .
earlier published on Live Science .
