The effect of temperature on the spread of COVID-19 has been a hot topic since this spring. At the beginning of the year, the researchers thought and hoped that hot summer temperatures would slow down coronavirus spread. However, studies have shown that this is not the case. The human factor is the main reason why coronavirus is spreading rapidly.
COVID-19 Testing
Since the beginning of the pandemic, scientists have been studying the coronavirus in all possible ways. Experts from around the world have performed countless tests in laboratory conditions. Which theories have been confirmed and which have been refuted?
A study at the University of Texas at Austin examined the effect of weather and human behavior on coronavirus spread. The researchers found that temperature and humidity had minimal impact on the COVID-19 spread. The virus transmits in hot summers and cold climates.
Experts evaluated the United States, individual states, regions, and the world as a whole. On a district and state scale, researchers monitored human behavior and movement using cell phone data. People spent a lot of time away from home and traveled; the incidence of coronavirus was higher.
Coronavirus and Human Behavior
Experts have found that temperature and weather have a negligible effect on the spread of coronavirus. And only less than 3%. At the same time, the human factor reaches up to 36%.
“The effect of weather is low and other features such as mobility have more impact than the weather,” said Dev Niyogi, a professor at UT Austin’s Jackson School of Geosciences and Cockrell School of Engineering who led the research. “In terms of relative importance, the weather is one of the last parameters.”
Sajad Jamshidi, a co-author of the study, expressed that coronavirus should not be considered weather- and climate-driven problem. But that we should take responsibility for our own behavior and take precautionary measures ourselves.
NASA and the National Science Foundation, and the University of Texas at Austin funded the research. The International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health published the study in October.
Source: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/11/201102155409.htm
