Winter and covid

Subject: Science and tech

Context:

A collaborative study conducted by Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Bhubaneswar and All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Bhubaneswar found that fall in temperature with seasonal progression towards winter will environmentally favour COVID-19 transmission in India.

Findings:

• Low temperature and high humidity appear to favour the spread of the disease.
• An increase in temperature by one degree leads to a 0.99% decrease in the number of COVID-19 cases
• In terms of doubling time, a one-degree rise in temperature leads to slowing by 1.13 days. Similarly, an increase in 10% relative humidity leads to an increase in doubling time by 1.18 days
• The progression of the season towards monsoon, post-monsoon, and after that winter with a continuous reduction in temperature will prove a significant challenge for health workers and policymakers attempting to enforce mitigation and control measures