‘Hot Weather and COVID-19: Is a Reprieve Expected?’
Warmer Temperatures could slow down the transmission but has no effect on man-to-man infection, demanding social distancing as a behavioral stratagem.
As the number of personnel’s affected by the novel coronavirus continues to rise there comes into picture a renewed argument regarding the impact that the upcoming summer and warmer temperatures could have on its spread and unfortunate outreach.
According to the recently published study by the Maine University in United States, the scientists have drawn a relative concerning the COVID-19 outbreak and the temperature that the affected countries have. The Study states that the virus wreaked havoc on those regions where the average temperature for the last three months was between 5–11 degrees Celsius, thus, giving a picture of why the virus was so contagious as far as the Northern Hemisphere is concerned.
If one would look at the worst affected countries, the majority of the same including China, Italy and USA had comparatively lower temperatures than the countries in the Southern Hemisphere and because of the same the total number of infected individuals for the Southern Hemisphere amounts to only 6% of the total, as claimed by Shri Qasim B. and Yusuf Jameel, in their published study, titled, ‘Will Coronavirus Pandemic Diminish By Summer’.
Further, as far as Italy and United States are concerned; only their northern regions are worst affected by the extensive communicability of the virus. In the northern states of U.S comprising, Washington, New York and New Jersey, the total number of cases amounts to about 20,000 but however, if one would take a note of the virus outbreak in the southern states (with relatively higher temperature) including Florida, Illionis and Michigan, the total number of reported cases are only about 4,500; indicating a strong relative between the temperatures and the outreach of the virus.
Another interesting study has been carried out by Mr. Miguel B.Araujo and Babak Naimi, researchers from Finland and Spain, who in there research titled, ‘Spread OF SARS-COV2 Coronavirus likely to be constrained by Climate’, stated that, in consonance with the corona virus family and their basic attributes, the virus displayed preference for cool and dry conditions and thus, a synchronous global pandemic is improbable but what is probable is asynchronous seasonal global outbreaks of the virus, whenever the climate is cool and dry.
An Asian study carried out by four Chinese scientists named, Jingyuan Wang, Ke Tang, Ki Feng and Weifeng Lv., titled, ‘ High Temperature and High Humidity Reduce the Transmission of COVID-19’, stated that the diffusion rate of the virus in warmer and drier regions of China was significantly lower than the regions with low and drier conditions, pointing us towards another same conclusion that as the summer seasons are set to dawn the infection might also lower done.
But however, in none of the reports that it is mentioned that people should not take due precautions by maintaining hygiene, social distancing and use of sanitizers among-st others, as the summers set forth and thus, behavioral considerations of people are going to determine the contagious limit of the virus.
Saharshrarchi Uma Pandey,
National Law University, Nagpur.
