Warmer countries with more intense UV radiation experience fewer cases of Covid-19, according to a new study.
The research offered findings that are consistent with the idea that heat and sunlight reduce the spread of the virus.
Scientists looking at 117 countries found that the further a country was located from the equator, the more cases the country had, relative to the number of inhabitants.
An 1% increase in absolute latitude was associated with a 4.3% increase in Covid-19 cases per million inhabitants.
Many viral acute respiratory tract infections, such as flu and coronavirus, are climate dependent and share seasonal patterns.
Some viruses may have better stability in low-temperature, low-humidity, and low-UV radiation environments.
READ MORE: Professor Linda Bauld says Glasgow spike requires 'robust response'
Scientists from Vienna University of Economics and Business said this could indicate there is a direct link between climate conditions and the spread of Covid-19.
However, the report found there was 'scant evidence' this was true for the virus.
On March 9, 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) stated that “from the evidence so far, the COVID-19 virus can be transmitted in all areas, including areas with hot and humid weather."
The researchers included data on air travel, urbanisation, testing intensity, cell phone usage, income, old-age dependency, and health expenditure.
According to the results of the research, countries are expected to see a decline in new COVID-19 cases during summer and a resurgence during winter.
However, scientists said the results do not imply that the disease will vanish during summer.
Rather, it found that that higher temperatures and more intense UV radiation in summer were more likely to support public health measures to contain the virus, such as physical distancing and more time spent outdoors.
READ MORE: Quarantine free international travel permitted from next week
Klaus Prettner, Department of Economics, Vienna University of Economics and Business, said: "The closer a country is to the equator, the fewer cases of COVID-19 virus per million population occur.
"The closer to the equator, the higher the humidity and temperatures tend to be, as well as the UV radiation.
"Knowing this is important in order to set appropriate measures against the spread of the COVID-19 virus.
"Overall, however, our results do not mean that countries closer to the equator will not be affected by the pandemic at all or that the virus will disappear altogether in the summer.”
The study said future research should aim at uncovering how the transmission of SARS-CoV-2 is affected by changes in climatic factors such as heat and humidity, geographic factors such as altitude and sunlight intensity, factors related to human behavior and different potential of the human immune system to cope with diseases in summer as opposed to winter.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel